Pot smoking neighbors and their fire pit
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Anonymous
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Row house a few down was as an AirBnB (owner lives in MD) until COVID, now rented out longer term. New neighbors there smoke pot outside on the porch often. They’ve set up a portable fire pit on the front porch and fire was going strong tonight as they smoked around it.
Not feeling comfortable approaching them about moving their fire pit off the porch and away from the house. Don’t want to cause any ill will but seems risky to be burning a fire on porch of a row house. How would you approach it? |
Anonymous
| I would call the fire marshal and ask what the law is related to fire pits and row houses. If it’s illegal, they should be able to deal with the neighbor. |
Anonymous
| Call 911 non emergency and tell them to send someone over to have a look. |
Anonymous
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Pot smoking on the front porch comes up often here. It is in fact illegal. The advocates will give you all of the reasons it is not, but you can dial into any of the ANC meetings and ask the visiting MPD rep, it is illegal and they will deftly and politely handle the situation without arrests. They leave flyers etc on first past without even knocking on doors through the entire block.
Anyway that is an option for the pot if it is bothering you. As for the fire pit, if you believe the fire pit is a danger to the row house you can ask the fire department. But is there a reason you think that there is a danger. There are propane fire pits that are designed to be burned on porches and there are wood fire pits with cool bottoms designed to be burned on patios. |
Anonymous
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Oh hell no. That is not okay. At best, it’s going to damage the porch ceiling. At worst...well you can figure that out.
Non emergency: Call 311 Or Office of the Fire Marshal 1100 4th Street SW Washington DC 20024 Phone: (202) 727-1614 I would not hesitate to call. I live in a rowhouse, and we just got a fire pit this fall for our backyard. It would never cross our mind to use it on the porch. |
Anonymous
Looks like it’s 15ft min from a dwelling in DC https://fems.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/fems/release_content/attachments/Outdoor%20Fire%20Pits%20and%20Open%20Burning.pdf |
Anonymous
Then I would absolutely report this. Yes, the pot smell is obnoxious but the safety issue needs to be rectified immediately. |
Anonymous
I’m not anti-pot, but I’d be a little anxious approaching a group that’s obnoxious about smoking it often and they’re not the ones I’d be most comfortable with tending a fire that close to a string of row houses |
Anonymous
? You don’t need to approach the neighbors. Call 311. |
Anonymous
| Isn't the only appropriate answer, send in a social worker? Lol |
Anonymous
| Isn't the only appropriate answer, send in a social worker? Lol |
Anonymous
For a fire violation? Yeah, if you’re going to be snarky regarding defunding the police, at least get the context of the joke correct. |
Anonymous
That sounds like it is in the middle of the street. How is that safe? |
Anonymous
Guess it’s like the backyard chicken rule that says they’re legal but health regulation says they have to be 50’ from a dwelling so rules out many parcels. |
Anonymous
NP here. You don’t get to set up a fire pit anywhere that is 15 ft. away from your house...you just have to have it at least 15 ft. away from your house, but in your yard or whatever. Obviously not out in the street. |