Montgomery County has no ordinance on backyard smokers. Charcoal and wood smokers are treated like grills under the fire code adopted via the PA UCC, and their smoke is subject to the PA DEP nuisance rule (25 Pa. Code §129.14). Multifamily balconies generally prohibit them.
Wood and charcoal smokers used for barbecue are not separately regulated by Montgomery County. As open-flame, solid-fuel cooking devices they fall under the same International Fire Code Section 308 provisions as charcoal grills (adopted through the PA UCC, 34 Pa. Code Ch. 403): they generally may not be used or stored on combustible balconies or within 10 feet of combustible construction at buildings with three or more dwelling units, but are freely allowed at one- and two-family homes with reasonable clearance. Persistent smoke from a smoker can also trigger the statewide PA DEP nuisance standard at 25 Pa. Code §129.14, which bars emissions that are malodorous or interfere with a neighbor's reasonable enjoyment of their property past the property line.
A smoker used on a prohibited multifamily balcony is a fire-code violation enforced by the municipal fire marshal (summary offense, local fine). Chronic off-property smoke can draw a PA DEP §129.14 nuisance complaint with civil penalties.
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