WASHINGTON — Firing up the barbecue can be fun over holiday weekends, but local burn unit doctors want you to avoid fiery accidents.
“Test the grill before the day that you’re having an event,” recommended Dr. Jeffrey Shupp, director of the Burn Center at MedStar Washington Hospital Center.
The stress of entertaining while cooking, Shupp said, can lead to accidents or decisions based on impatience because people are waiting for food. There are cases, for example, in which someone who hasn’t appropriately stocked lighter fluid tries using gasoline.
“Don’t use improvised accelerants like gasoline to start the fire,” Shupp warned. “Every year we have several — at least a handful to a dozen — patients that are admitted for an extended period of time for burn injuries due to accidents while using grills.”
Shupp recalled incidents, both minor and more serious, such as when gas tanks have exploded and flown off a grill, spreading fire to a home. Injuries can vary widely.
“They can go from inhalation injury to a large surface area third-degree burn needing to go to the intensive unit for weeks or months of care,” Shupp said.
A list of safe grilling tips from the Burn Center team includes do’s and don’ts.
Do:
- Place grill 10 feet away from the house, deck railing and low hanging branches
- Clean the grill before using to prevent old grease from igniting
- Create a safe zone keeping the grill area off limits to pets and children
- Use long-handled grilling tools
Don’t:
- Never continue cooking if you smell gas; turn the grill off and close the gas tank valve
- Never leave the propane tank valve open when the grill isn’t in use; shut it down
- Never start a gas grill with the lid closed (“Light the grill and it doesn’t quite ignite and you have the lid on, and you get a big bolus of gas under the lid. And it finally ignites and you get this big flame ball that comes out,” Shupp explained.)
Shupp acknowledged that grilling can turn into a routine activity easily taken for granted.
“It’s good to take a moment pause and look over some safety tips because it only takes one experience like this and it can land you in the hospital,” he warned.
