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Council approves tighter rules for outdoor fire pits with inspection language to be refined
Summary
The council approved an amendment to the city code on outdoor fires that will require inspection of installed outdoor heating/cooking devices; councilmembers and the solicitor agreed to a minor rewording about when the fire marshal inspects units and planned to return with a clarifying amendment if needed.
The Cranston City Council on July 20 approved an amendment to the city code governing outdoor fires that the fire marshal asked to update to address open gas fire pits and similar devices.
Councilman Andujar, sponsor of the ordinance, said the amendment would bring local rules in line with the state fire marshal’s guidance and urged passage. Vice President Haroyan and other council members said the amendment responds to safety concerns — specifically devices being installed at restaurants or businesses near patrons — and called for inspections to ensure devices meet recognized safety standards.
During debate the council’s solicitor and a city solicitor identified wording that could be read to mean the fire marshal would install equipment; the solicitor recommended a minor edit so the language would clearly require inspection after installation rather than suggesting the marshal performs installations. The council agreed to move the ordinance forward and to amend the language to be clearer at a later date if necessary. "It should really read, they shall be inspected by the fire marshal once they are installed," the solicitor said.
The council recorded a roll-call vote in favor of the measure. Several members asked that any further grammatical or clarifying changes be made via a subsequent amendment or committee review rather than delaying adoption; the council said the fire department favors the change and emphasized that the amendment is not intended to require the fire marshal to install devices.
Next steps: the solicitor will refine the wording to clarify the inspection requirement; councilmembers said they may return the ordinance to committee for final edits if needed.
