Overland Park, KS Outdoor Cooking: Smoker Rules (2026)

2 of the adopted International Fire Code, as amended locally, states that charcoal burners and other open-flame cooking devices shall not be located or operated on combustible balconies or within 10 feet (3048 mm) of combustible construction. That single sentence is what governs backyard smokers, charcoal grills, and similar open-flame cookers citywide, and it applies most forcefully to multi-family buildings, where a smoker on a wood-framed apartment balcony sits squarely in the conduct the rule targets. The section carries two exceptions that cover most single-family homeowners: one- and two-family dwellings are exempt outright, and any building, balcony, or deck protected throughout by an automatic sprinkler system is also excused from the 10-foot clearance.

2 at all, while a resident of a Group R-2 apartment building without balcony sprinkler coverage has to keep the smoker off the balcony and at least 10 feet from any combustible wall, railing, or overhang. 3.