With the warm weather, a lot of Omaha residents are breaking the law and don't realize it. Fire investigators say there are a lot of misconceptions about outdoor grills and apartments.

These laws apply to multi-family dwellings, apartment buildings, condos and town homes, almost anytime there are three or more dwellings in one building.

One part of the law in Omaha is if you have a charcoal or gas grill, it must be 10 feet away from the building to use it and store it. As you might imagine, that rules out most balconies.

Taking a drive past The Heights apartment complex at 120th and West Dodge, it's not hard to see gas grills on dozens of balconies. Resident Lois Hoover doesn't have a grill and now wonders about the danger posed by those who do.

"I suppose if I think about it, yes, I would think it should be a concern of everyone’s."

Enough of a concern for The Heights management to at the very least, put out notice. "They just put out little fly sheets and they put 'em in each door so everyone has them,” says Hoover. “Mine was taped to my front door."

Still, balcony after balcony shows a complete disregard by some residents for the city ordinance banning charcoal and gas grills on apartment balconies.

“I know it's an inconvenience for people and it's probably a disappointment to a lot of them, but also when you're endangering a whole group of people you have to sometimes change your habits," says Hoover.

We found other apartment balconies around Omaha with illegal grills. It's a law the Omaha Fire Department hopes to get some help enforcing.

"It's a difficult one to enforce," says Omaha Assistant Fire Marshal Daryl Giles. "To get to each tenant, we are directing our enforcement to the management and expect the management to address the enforcement with all their tenants."

A grill law enforced by a misdemeanor, possibly turning a cookout into a blowout. "That's not our intent to ruin anybody's fun, but I think the message needs to be put out and warn people that it is a hazard and our intent is to protect life and property," says Giles.

In Omaha, the law allows you to use a propane grill on your apartment balcony if the tank is one pound or less. If you want to grill on your apartment balcony, best bet is to get an electric grill. Those are always allowed.

Other cities also have ordinances concerning grills and apartments. La Vista and Council Bluffs are the same as Omaha, no gas or charcoal grills unless they are stored and used at least 10 feet away. Electric ones are okay on balconies.

Bellevue and Papillion allow electric and gas grills, but not charcoal ones.