Fire marshal gives summer safety tips
By Bobbi Mlynar
Originally published 01:44 p.m., May 23, 2008
Updated 01:44 p.m., May 23, 2008
They’re good people to know, but you don’t want them to drop in unexpectedly.
Fire Marshal Tom Andrews offered tips this week to prevent the accidents that bring firefighters and emergency medical technicians racing to help.
As the weather warms, people swarm to outdoor activities like swimming, grilling, mowing, gardening, and landscaping. With the fun — or the work — come opportunities for injuries, fires, and more.
Andrews talked about ways area residents can enjoy a safer summer without sacrificing enjoyment of the outdoors.
Outdoor cooking
Grilling and smoking came to mind first, perhaps because of Andrews’ personal experience with the long-lasting powers of charcoal.
“I melted the siding on my house, actually, years ago,” Andrews said.
The potential for such fires, which occur regularly, presents itself when people try to properly dispose of ashes from spent charcoal or firewood. He had thought his own burned-down charcoal briquettes had cooled sufficiently, and that is a common mistake.
Another family’s house received substantial damage in a similar way. They had grilled with charcoal the previous night and the following morning had conscientiously placed the embers in a container by the house before picking up the grill and taking it with them to the lake.
For safety’s sake, it is better to wait to dispose of them, and not to place them near a structure.
“I’d recommend on charcoal, three days, and longer than that on firewood,” Andrews said.
And if the wood used is hedge — notorious as a hot-burning, long-lasting fuel — he recommended waiting seven days for the embers to go out completely.
“It’s almost like coal,” he said.
Andrews also cautioned that grills and smokers can rust out and create their own added hazards.
“The problem with these gas grills is when they get older, they rust,” he said. “... That allows the gas to go places where it’s not supposed to go.”
The result can be flames flaring out from the bottom or sides of the grills, which create dangers for the cooks and anything nearby. Andrews recommended that outdoor cooking equipment be placed at least three feet from structures and that children be kept away from the cooking area.
Use appropriate starter fuel, he said, and never use gasoline to start grills or smokers. Gasoline as a liquid does not burn; it’s the fumes that ignite.
“It’s dangerous, dangerous stuff,” Andrews said. “It’s much more flammable and it has to do with the fumes themselves.”
For that reason, gas also should not be used to burn brush piles or to cook over open flames.
“People will end up with fumes all around them. They light the fire, and they get burned,” he said.
According to the latest figures available from the Home Safety Council, an average of 900 structure fires and 3,500 outdoor fires in or on home properties occur annually, with a combined property loss of $30 million.
Grills and smokers made for outdoor use should never be used inside a house or enclosed area because of the carbon monoxide byproducts they create.
Andrews offered these other outdoor cooking tips, gathered from the Home Safety Council Web site:
• designate the grilling area as a “No Play Zone” for children and pets until the food is cooked and the equipment has cooled.
• position the grill or smoker at least three feet from a structure, shrubs, or bushes.
• use only starter fluid made for barbecue grills
• check the connection between propane tank and fuel line for leaks — and never use a match to do it
• never use a barbecue grill indoors or in unventilated space. They can create both a fire and a carbon monoxide poisoning hazard.
Swim pools
Andrews said that two of the greatest dangers associated with children and swim pools or lakes are subtle ones: 1. It is easy to be distracted momentarily, and drownings can occur within seconds; and 2. It often is difficult to hear children’s or adult’s cries for help in public places.
“There’s a lot of noise, like at the Aquatic Center,” Andrews said. “I’ve spent a lot of time out there with my kids.”
He recommended keeping young children close enough to be able to touch them and to watch them at all times.
“It’s amazing, when you’re at the Aquatic Center, how hard it is to find your child when you’ve lost track of them,” he said.
Harmful substances
Keeping poisonous chemicals in their original containers and inaccessible to children and animals are key components to avoiding serious injuries and even death.
Young children do not think about whether the familiar-looking container, which may have held an energy drink or apple juice, now contains the remnants of a pesticide or other lethal product.
Gasoline, too, should be kept in a gasoline can that is difficult to open.
“Store gasoline outdoors or in the garage or a shed, never inside,” Andrews added. “... If the gas gets out of that container — either spills or leaks out — in those outdoor environments your chances of having a fire are less.”
Mowing, yard work
“Remind people that the mower can send things flying through the air,” Andrews said.
Be care to remove rocks, sticks and other debris from the yard before mowing and always mow with sturdy shoes and long pants rather than sandals and shorts.
Andrews said to allow the mower’s engine to cool before adding fuel.
“Luckily, they design mowers with the gas tank on the opposite side of the exhaust,” he remarked.
Clear out any remaining leaves and debris from shrubs and bushes around houses and other structures; otherwise, a carelessly tossed cigarette can find a good fuel source that can quickly go out of control.
Andrews said it was only a few weeks ago that firefighters were called to a fire that started in leaves at a home near the downtown area. He surmised that the fire began when someone discarded a cigarette butt into the bushes.
“This time of year, you’ve got (situations) where those leaves and brush do accumulate next to the house,” Andrews said.