Louisburg, KS Outdoor Cooking: Smoker Rules (2026)

Section 7-209 of the Louisburg Fire Code generally bans open burning, but subsection (c) carves out non-commercial food preparation such as barbecuing, provided the fire burns inside a container or structure designed for cooking rather than on bare ground. The subsection then narrows deck and balcony cooking specifically: burning charcoal or running any other open-flame cooking device on a combustible deck or balcony is allowed only at one- and two-family dwellings, or wherever the combustible deck or balcony is protected by an automatic sprinkler system, or where the Fire Chief has separately authorized it.

That means residents of multi-family buildings without sprinklered balconies cannot grill with charcoal or an open flame on their deck under this section. Subsection (b), just above it, separately permits burning wood, paper, or similar material in an enclosed fireplace or wood stove, but only when the appliance sits entirely inside an occupied structure and meets applicable building and fire code requirements, a different scenario from outdoor grilling. Louisburg has also adopted the International Fire Code, 2018 Edition (§ 7-401), which supplies additional equipment and clearance standards for outdoor cooking appliances layered on top of § 7-209's use restrictions.

Violations of the open-burning article fall under the same enforcement and penalty structure as the rest of § 7-209: the Chief of Police, the Fire Department, or a Code Enforcement Officer may act, and § 7-402 sets a fine of up to $500 for related fire-code violations.