Backyard smokers count as open-flame cooking devices under the fire code. They may not be used within 10 feet of combustible construction, except at one- and two-family homes or on sprinklered decks. Single-family residents may smoke meats in their yards.
Henrico has no smoker-specific ordinance; a smoker is an 'other open-flame cooking device' under the Statewide Fire Prevention Code. The same 10-foot combustible-clearance rule and the one-/two-family and sprinkler exceptions that apply to grills apply to smokers. In practice, single-family homeowners may operate a smoker in the backyard, while apartment and condo residents cannot use one on a combustible balcony. Smoke that creates an objectionable odor or hazard to neighbors can still prompt the fire department to require it be extinguished.
Using a smoker on a combustible multifamily balcony violates the fire code; nuisance smoke can trigger a fire-department order to extinguish. Enforced by the fire chief.
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