I think you'd just make it if you cooked at the end of your front walk just by the sidewalk. :rolleyes:

There are pretty good grills out there that meet the fuel requirements, but they still have an "open flame" so I don't know if they can be used.

Like this one

There are some electric grills, like the George Foreman Indoor/Outdoor Grill

Or this full size electric job that claims to cook as good as gas, although it is a bit pricy.

Dear All,

The California Fire Dept. wishes to advise that all BBQs and fireplaces must comply with the recently published building code. Due to loopholes in the previous regulations, approved "Flame Containers" will be described by the brick count.

As an indication, the brick count for a BBQ/Fireplace as deemed safe for a single family residence is 12,792. Officers have been instructed that structures constructed of a brick count less than this number for a single family residence are to be considered in breach of the regulations.

Furthermore, the required brick count increases proportionally to the number of families living in the annexed dwelling as follows:

1 Family = 12,792
2 Families = 1 Family's brick count times 1.5 (this is known as the coefficient of safety, as prescribed by Dolores Umbridge, Director of California Fire Inc.).

..and so the scale goes.

As Dolores so eloquently put it: "The fuel used does not matter - it's all about the brick count".

Below is a picture of a compliant 1 Family BBQ/Fireplace:

The regulation does carve out an exception for one and two family dwellings. The right to burn your house down-another benefit of home ownership.

I thought this was actually going to be about grills inside houses. It happens every year when there is a power outage -- some idiots try to cook on their grill inside their house or attached garage and get carbon monoxide poisoning. I suppose it's a modern form of natural selection.

Yup..and I'm gonna get me a 5 pound bottle, some marsh mallows and some LPG...and if that don't work, it's off to Walmart to buy a deep-fryin' can and a frozen Tur-Ducken.

I wonder how they define "combustible construction." Our condo is obviously not fireproof, but the exterior is covered in stucco, not particularly combustible. And our fences around our patio were just replaced by vinyl. So there really isn't much exposed flammable construction material back there, so perhaps we are in the clear?

Last night, I saw a cool episode of Deconstruction on the DIY Network that talked about fireproof materials. This link may or may not work...

Back home the BBQ restriction is coupled with a Christmas tree prohibition. Is that also the case in California? (Doesn't matter for me personally, as mine is fake.)

I've never had building management indicate that Christmas trees aren't allowed (though I've never had one so maybe a warning was never triggered). But based on the idiots throwing theirs in the dumpsters every January if it is a rule it is widely ignored.

In my complex Christmas Trees are allowed. They even provide a special dumpster for recycling them after the holidays.