Camp Fires and Grilling Safety

In the United States the Memorial Day weekend is the traditional start of the summer season. And in some parts of the country, such as New Jersey, this is the start of the camping and outdoor picnic season. Many, but not all picnic areas have grills where you can bring your charcoal briquettes and grill your food. Many of you have outdoor gas grills or older grills using charcoal briquettes. It is important to use these grills safely and if you are using charcoal briquettes to dispose of them only after they are cool in a locked metal garbage can. FEMA has a nice, short set of graphics about grilling safety that may be found here.

Let's not forgot campfire safety. Some folk camp year round at campsites. Some campgrounds will allow campfires and some will not. If you are camping in a federal, state or local park or forest, it is important to check with the office when you check-in to see if campfires are allowed. Also, pay attention to any campfire restrictions from you state agency. I found some good information from SmokeyBear on campfire safety, there is also a campfire safety guide that you can print out and take with you (two pages), good to have handy as sometimes cellular service is unreliable in rural areas.

Have fun and be safe if you are grilling outside or using a campfire.

Updated on December 20, 2020: the video that I shared when I first posted this article is no longer available.