Family Outdoor Fireplaces

Archive for the ‘Safety’ Category

Cooking over your outdoor fireplace can be a lot of fun, but you should always keep safety in mind.

According to the American Academy of Pediatricians, burns from outdoor fires such as barbecue grills and outdoor fireplaces are one of the most common summertime injuries for children. According to the National Firefighters Association, you should always observe the following safety rules when cooking over an outdoor fire:

1. The outdoor fireplace should be located on a fireproof surface, such as concrete, earth or brick.
2. Never leave a burning fire unattended. Have someone stationed nearby at all times who knows what to do if sparks from the fire ignite something.
3. Have a method of extinguishing the fire within reach of the outdoor fireplace, whether it be a fire extinguisher, a bucket of sand or a water hose. Many outdoor fireplaces come with a safety lid that makes it easy to smother a fire quickly and completely.
4. Keep children away from the cooking area. Besides risking their safety, children are a distraction that can risk your safety as well.
5. Use cooking utensils with long handles – eighteen inches at a minimum. In addition, the handles should be made of a material that doesn’t conduct heat.
6. Check with your local fire department about any restriction on outdoor fires. In some counties, it may be illegal to light a cooking fire in your outdoor fireplace under certain conditions – like during a smog alert.
7. Always make sure that the cooking surface is clean. Baked on grease or food is a fire hazard.
8. Propane and natural gas is not recommended as a fuel for cooking in an outdoor fireplace.
9. Be certain to follow any safety precautions and instructions that came with your outdoor fireplace.
10. Inspect the fireplace for any cracks or damage that might make it dangerous to use.

Cooking outdoors can add a new dimension of fun to your backyard parties and activities, but safety is always important. Follow the safety rules above to be sure that you and your family get the most enjoyment out of your new fireplace, safely.

An outdoor fireplace can be fun for the whole family and also an excellent setting for outdoor entertaining.

However, you should always keep safety in mind whenever an outdoor fireplace is in use so that a ‘good time’ doesn’t become a ‘tragic one’ instead.

A screen should be used to keep sparks from jumping out of the fireplace. Stray sparks could land on someone and cause painful and serious burns, or land on the roof of the house and cause the roof to catch fire.

When cooking care should be taken to avoid injuries. Make sure to use skewers that are at least 6 in. or more in length when roasting marshmallows and wieners to keep everyone at a safe distance from the heat and flames of the fire in the fireplace. Remember to caution against immediately biting into food that has been cooked over a fire. The food may be cool to the touch while the internal temperature could be hot enough to cause an injury to the mouth if eaten too soon. Better to let the food cool for a few minutes before eating.

Children should be supervised at all times when it is in use. Children should also be cautioned against horseplay around the fireplace to prevent falling into the fire if your outdoor fireplace is a bowl or ring shape or bumping- up against the very hot surfaces in other outdoor fireplace designs. Children should never be allowed to “play” with the fire in the fireplace with sticks. A child could set themselves on fire or drop a stick on the ground and catch the nearby grass on fire. All children should be taught the stop-drop-and roll method of putting out a fire should their clothes happen to catch on fire.

You should never wear clothing that has strings or anything that hangs from the clothing whenever you’re near an outdoor fireplace. A string from a jacket could fall into the fire “unnoticed” and set your clothing on fire. The furniture used around an outdoor fireplace should be made of fire-resistant materials to prevent them from catching on fire should a stray spark escape from the fireplace.

By observing these and other rules of safety, an outdoor fireplace can be a wonderful addition to your backyard that the whole family can enjoy. Be safe and have fun.