Fire Marshall encounter

You miss the point. The National Electric Code is promulgated by the NFPA (National Fire Prevention Association) which is a consortium of insurance companies (who want to collect premiums but not pay benefits) and manufacturers (who want to sell equipment but not pay out lawsuit settlements). Your city, of course, wants to collect fees for doing inspections and find jobs for the politicians brothers in law.

In Canada (at least where I live) the municipalities haven't quite figured out what a gold mine the inspection racket is (my contractor's site rep in VA once told me they were starting to work in DC and so he had to spend the weekend practicing folding up $20 bills so they would fit in match books) and so while you might never see an inspector there your insurance company may ask to come around and have a look.

Anyway, the point is that if the NFPA doesn't have a problem with a neon sign in a residence then I don't care whether Fairfax county does or not from the point of view of safety. What I do care about is that if I have one and the neighbors house catches fire and sets mine off that the insurance company can try to refuse my claim because I have a county electrical violation (if they find it).

Probably not, especially if it is an old sign. I'd guess maybe 110 to 2400 volts min.

I certainly wouldn't.

A lot of these guys know how silly some of the local the regulations are. But some might ask you if you have a match.

 

Thanks everyone. After sleeping on it, I think the key thing he said was the material of the stand wood (vs. metal).

He also asked if I had a sprinkler system in my garage. Really, nobody I know has a residential fire suppression sprinkler system in their garage.

I have seen his truck around here before... so I am not sure if he lives near by or was just on my street for some other purpose.

Like I said, I'll probably do more brewing in the backyard.
My gated neighborhood, with golf course and strict HOA would probably appreciate me brewing out of sight anyway.

One final question... so, if he does call. Should I answer it? Or record it and post it here?

 

Yes?

 

Has been a requirement of the IRC since around 2009. Although, many jurisdictions have eluded enforcement of it by not adopting all of the chapters of the code.

Fire Marshals across the nation are pushing hard to see that everything gets a sprinkler system.

 

Yet another reason to be happy I have a 600' driveway and live in the woods. My suggestion would be to brew in the backyard. Out of sight out of mind. As said above, your neighbors have probably watched too much Breaking Bad.

 

Not sure about the law, but as far as safety, using a turkey fryer with oil under a roof has the potential to catch everything on fire, since the oil boiling over can ignite on the flames of the burner, and woosh.

Having water/wort on a burner won't do anything more dramatic than make a mess and put the flame out, so it has almost no potential to catch your roof on fire.

 

I dunno the actual law, but the NFC does have an ordinance prohibiting storing propane tanks indoors. Is why they are always kept outside the building at the point of sale.

 

I thought of that too when he was here and told him I was aware of the concerns with turkey firers and that i was only heating water.

 

Yup I bet he thought turkey fryer/flammable oil with the tanks right in the line of the boil over fire...

 

Wouldn't that be entertaining to see!

 

Well, since you asked!

 

Just an update for everyone that replied: No phone call ever came from the fireman.

I did brew in the backyard since the encounter. I guess that's what I do until it gets to be the rainy season again.

Thanks!