The position of your barbeque plays a key role in ensuring your safety. All barbecues should be sited on a flat surface that is positioned far away from any buildings, sheds, trees, and shrubbery. Keeping this distance will ensure the likelihood of a fire is dramatically reduced. 

When cooking on a barbecue you need to be prepared for any situation. It’s a clever idea to keep a fire-stopping resource close. A simple bucket of water, sand, or a garden hose is all that you need - just make sure it's within arm's length. 

Ensuring your grill isn’t crowded can also prevent fires, as meat fats can cause excessive flames and potential burns.

If you’re using a traditional charcoal barbecue, it’s important to ensure your charcoal is evenly distributed around your grill. Your charcoal should also have an approximate depth of l50cm or 2 inches. 

Gas is an extremely dangerous and flammable substance. So, it’s important to ensure the gas tap is turned off before changing your barbecue cylinder. Failure to do so could cause a fire risk and possible gas poisoning. 

Keep an eye out for the following symptoms, they could be a sign of carbon monoxide poisoning:

• Headaches
• Nausea
• Breathlessness
• Dizziness
• Collapse
• Loss of consciousness

If you spot any of these signs in yourself or others, turn off your barbecue, ventilate the space, and seek medical attention immediately.

Firepits, chimineas  and outdoor fireplaces should be placed on a flat surface away from flammable elements like decking, trees, sheds and shrubbery. You should also ensure that the structure is stable before lighting your firepit. 

Before setting up your firepit, it’s a smart idea to check your local weather for updates on wind direction and extreme weather. Knowing the wind direction can help you position your firepit safely to prevent the potential risk of flames being carried by the breeze. Meanwhile, knowing if extreme weather is on the way can help you evaluate whether breaking out the firepit is a smart choice. 

When relaxing around a fire pit, it’s always a good idea to have a source of fire extinguishment close. As mentioned prior, a bucket of water, sand, or the humble garden hose will do the trick.  

Never use painted, coated or pressure-treated wood on your firepit, as these can release toxic chemicals into the air. You should only use kiln-dried wood to reduce the risk of potentially dangerous sparks and smoke.

We understand you want to have an enjoyable time, and for many people, this means a cheeky alcoholic drink. However, alcohol and fire don’t mix! If you’re around an open fire, it’s always advisable to drink responsibly. 

As we all know, a candle is burnt by a naked flame, so it’s important to keep that in mind when positioning them outside. Avoid putting your candles anywhere near fences, sheds, trees or shrubbery. You never know when a gust of wind or accident could cause a lit candle to meet a flammable item.  Placing a candle under plants can also cause an issue, as they can heat up the leaves, causing a fire.

A strong breeze can cause your candles to blow out, and in extreme cases, cause the flame to spread. This is an extremely dangerous situation, so it’s important to check the weather forecast before breaking out those citronella candles. 

As mentioned above, children and pets don’t mix well with fire. Keep babies of both human and furry varieties away from lit candles. 

As mentioned above, smoking materials like cigarettes can cause a fire hazard at any time of year. However, they are particularly harmful during summer due to the drying out of environmental elements that could catch fire if they meet an unextinguished cigarette. To avoid this, ensure your smoking materials are completely extinguished and disposed of in a safe space, such as an ashtray.

When the temperatures are high, it’s particularly important to keep your eye on cigarettes and other smoking materials. A simple flick of ash on a flammable item, like dry grass, could cause a fire risk that could easily be avoided. 

We all know that children and fire are not a safe combination, so it's vital that you keep an eye on little ones. Children should always be kept at a safe distance away from matches, cigarettes and open fires.