National Grilling Month Grilling Safety

We’ve all seen the cartoon or sitcom dad have trouble lighting the grill. The slapstick gag of a father flambé brings a chuckle or a smile to anyone who has had difficulty with lighter fluid and charcoal briquettes, but the joke provides a good reminder of the necessity of barbecue safety.

Firefighters responded to an average of 7,700 home fires caused by barbecues and grills per year between 2004 and 2008, according to the National Fire Protection Association. Serious burns can cause disfigurements, loss of joint mobility, severe pain and infection. Following these straightforward guidelines will keep you grilling burgers instead of singeing eyebrows.

• Know how to use your grill. Read the owner’s manual before operating your grill, and be sure you always know what you’re doing.
• Most barbecue burns occur while starting the grill when accumulated gas or lighter fluid flares up. With a gas grill, leave the lid open and light the grill before too much gas builds up. With a charcoal grill, never attempt to restart or speed up a fire by putting lighter fluid or gasoline on hot coals.
• Be able to put out a fire if one does occur. Have a fire extinguisher nearby and know how to use it, and use baking soda to control a grease fire.
• Keep flammable materials away. Don’t wear loose clothing and keep the grill away from plants, cloth or other combustible objects. Minor burns can occur from touching a hot grill, so use long-handed utensils that keep you from getting too close.
• Never leave the grill unattended. Fires can occur while you’re gone that can harm others or damage property. If you need to go elsewhere, make sure another adult watches the grill in your absence. Keep children away from the grill, and never leave them alone with a grill or fire.
• Only grill outside in an open area away from windows. Enclosed spaces like garages, tents and trailers carry an increased risk of fire, and poisonous carbon monoxide can accumulate in the area.

Keep these tips in mind while out on the patio this summer to ensure that your cookouts are tasty, fun and accident-free.

-Submitted by Joseph Michael Giangrasso, M.D., a board-certified emergency medicine specialist, and serves as the medical director of Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital’s emergency medicine and trauma departments.