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Gas Grill Safety Tips

by on Jul 4, 2012

Today is the Fourth of July, which means here in the U.S.A., people everywhere will be firing up their grills and barbecues to cook up some burgers, brats and hotdogs. Grilling and summer holidays go hand in hand, as, unfortunately, does grilling and home fires.  From 2005 to 2009, five out of six home fires that were caused by a grill or barbecue involved a gas grill specifically

George Cruz, a property damage restoration expert from PuroClean, has some simple tips that can prevent fire damage from gas grills and he’s sharing them with us. Here they are:

  • Inspect before using: After staying stagnant through the winter months, your grill might need a tune up. Five out of six home grill fires involve a gas grill and the leading contributing factor was a leak or break in hoses or other equipment.
  •  Never leave your grill, when grilling or completely shut off, close to your house. A spark can ignite and quickly spread to the attic, and spread even more quickly into the HVAC ducts causing massive smoke damage throughout your home no matter how soon the fire was extinguished. Even when it is a small, localized fire, the property damage can be extreme and costly when ignited by a BBQ gas grill.
  • NEVER store an LP cylinder indoors. If storing the gas grill indoors (in a sheltered location, such as a garage), the LP cylinder MUST be disconnected, removed, and stored outdoors.
  • When you move your BBQ gas grill from the garage to the patio always remember to close off the gas tank and detach it completely from the body of the grill. This is a very important because many homeowners never detach the gas tank from the grill and are not aware that a fire can occur within the gas grill.