Prince George's County, MD Outdoor Cooking: BBQ & Propane Rules (2026)

Sec. 11-269 of the Fire Prevention Code addresses a common apartment fire risk: charcoal and propane grills stored close to combustible balconies and siding. The Section prohibits using or storing charcoal-burning, other fuel-burning, or electric-cooking equipment outside of any multifamily dwelling unless the equipment is permanently installed at a fixed location at least thirty feet from every part of the building, and that thirty-foot measurement expressly includes contiguous patios and balconies attached to the structure, not just the exterior wall. The rule targets stacked multifamily construction: it does not apply to townhouses, row houses, or other multifamily dwellings where all of the dwelling units sit side by side with none superimposed above another, since those configurations do not share the same balcony fire-spread risk as apartment buildings with units above and below each other.

For enforcement purposes, the Section treats patios and balconies open to the exterior as separate spaces from the dwelling unit itself, so a grill or other cooking equipment stored there, along with any flammables or combustibles kept alongside it, can be removed either by building management or by the Office of the Fire Marshal. The Section was renumbered and updated by CB-020-2025, reflecting the County's continued focus on high-rise and garden-apartment grill fires.