Outdoor Cookin' Safety

[Bird]

The young couple next door to us have twins who are 2 years old today. Last year they had a birthday party and rented one of those inflated bounce houses for the day for the kids to play in; $200. So this year, he was out there yesterday assembling a swing set; probably much more practical. But then this morning, I saw them unloading a little smoker/grill; the kind with the fire box hanging off one end. They've not had any kind of outdoor cooking equipment in the past. Later, I noticed it sitting on the patio with a big bottle of starter fluid sitting on it. I had no idea how much experience or knowledge they have about such things. Anyway, a few minutes ago I walked out the back door and was hit with a very familiar overwhelming aroma of lighter fluid, looked over there and saw the entire grill/smoker in flames and him standing back, rubbing the singed hair off his arms. Whew . . ., I think no more serious injuries or damage, but a novice really needs to be careful.

 

[jimmyj]

Too bad we all don't get a lesson when we first use a barbeque grill Bird. I know that sounds stupid but my brother blew the lid of a gas grill, by pal thought the gas was not on when my grill did not light and bent over to take a whiff for gas (poof, no hair, no eyebrows) and my wife and I set the siding on our first house on fire the first evening we moved in!

Dumb, dumb and dumber!

It is amazing any of us are still alive!

 

[Bird]

It is amazing any of us are still alive!

That's certainly true for my family.

 

[scott_vt]

Good Afternoon Bird,
Oh my gosh !!! I hope that fella is OK !!! That could have been more disastrous than that !

Honestly, I hate to think of other people as stupid, but when I see things like this I really wonder ! Just a few years ago I responded with the fire department to a couple that were trying to get their indoor fireplace going. The problem is that the wood was a bit wet so this fella throws some gasoline on the wet logs ! Unfortunately for him, he was badly burned ! Both arms 2nd and 3rd degree burns, all the hair of his head and facial hair ! I remember walking into the house, tryiing to calm the wife, as the skin was falling off her husbands arms !

At times I often wonder what ever happened to common sense !

If they have young children, that cooker should be in a fenced area ! IMHO !

 

[Bird]

Scotty, I guess everything must be alright because one of the girls just came over and brought each of us a plate full of Spanish rice, refried beans, and fajitas. It looks good, but I've already eaten enough for today, so I'll find out tomorrow.

 

[EddieWalker]

When I was stationed at the US Embassy in Yaounde, Cameroon, a US Peace Corp girl came in to the embassy with third degree burns on her face and arms. I was the Marine on Duty, and I knew who she was. I let her into the embassy and called our RN in, then tried to help her out with first aid. She had used gasoline to start a Bar B Q.

The nurse gave her some meds, got her sedated and then she was sent off to Frankfurt for medical treatment. About four months later, give or take, she was back and there was no sign of the burns. When I first saw her, the skin on her face was cracking off of her like black colored potatoe chips.

Eddie

 

[Bird]

Eddie, that's another thing I've wondered about. I've seen some people horribly scarred from burns and others who've had bad burns, but no scars. When I was 16, I had a radiator cap unexpectedly blow off an old overheated Plymouth. Some of that boiling water hit me in the face and chest and some even ran down my back. Extremely painful and I went straight to a doctor's office less than a quarter mile away. He said I'd be scarred for life. Well, I couldn't even put a shirt on for a couple of weeks, and of course for the rest of that year, you could sure see exactly where I was burned. The next summer, the outline of the burned area would show when I went swimming in cold water. And after that, no sign at all of the burn. I figure I was just lucky.

 

[EddieWalker]

Bird,

Sorry to hear about your burns. They scare the heck out of me!!!

After submitting my post, I got to wondering about a few of the facts that I mentioned. I was told she had 3rd degree burns by the nurse, but she was a bit of a drama queen and I learned not to take her word for evrything as being exact. She tended to exagerate, but the way the skin on that girls face was flaking and breaking off, I sure couldn't say for sure what degree the burns were. It's unlike anything I've ever seen since then. I also can't say for sure how long it was that she was gone. I was stationed there for 14 months, and I saw here when she came back. I thought it was less then halfa year, but again, I'm not positive on the exact time frame. She wasn't a friend or even a drinking buddy, just one of those crazy Peace Corps people that we had contact with at the Embassy.

Eddie

 

[RobertN]

Charring is 3rd degree. Remember from 1st class 1st aid in your Scout handbook

1st degree is typically redness; a sunburn is 1st degree.
2nd degree is redness, blistering, painful
3rd degree is full thickness. Can have charring. Does not hurt so much, because the nerves are burnt.

I just happen to have the latest first aid merit badge book on my desk

Bird,

Sorry to hear about your burns. They scare the heck out of me!!!

After submitting my post, I got to wondering about a few of the facts that I mentioned. I was told she had 3rd degree burns by the nurse, but she was a bit of a drama queen and I learned not to take her word for evrything as being exact. She tended to exagerate, but the way the skin on that girls face was flaking and breaking off, I sure couldn't say for sure what degree the burns were. It's unlike anything I've ever seen since then.

 

[ELMO67]

Yeah, outdoor cooking safety and the fire dept. You wouldn't think that they (fire dept.) would take risks with things like gasoline and FIRE. When we had a stag party for my best friend, it was hosted by- ahem- a couple of the "higher ups" in the local volunteer dept. The fun thing about stag parties is usually the booze, and, well, the other thing wasn't allowed at this stag. Anyway, with the absence of any women, the alcohol was flowing at a pretty good rate. This stag was in someone's back yard , out in the woods, away from everything. The menu for the day was barbecued chicken and alcohol, and since the party started early most of the volunteer firefighters were pretty soused when they decided it was time to eat. Of course when most people drink, they forget things, in this case, it was the fire in the enormous barbecue pit they had setup for such gatherings. Hey, no problem, we belong to the fire dept., we can get this fire going FAST! One guy comes over and douses the (already burning) fire with gasoline! WOW instant 30 ft flames!!! and smoke!!! Did I mention the chicken was already on the grill?!!! Well, the chicken didn't taste too good when it was done- except to the drunk guys. Near the end of the debacle, a call came in for a gentleman with chest pains. Since the entire dept. was here, and feeling good, someone had to respond, but the funny part of that ( at the time), was that three of the guys, when backing their trucks up at a high rate of speed, backed into each other! Hey, no problem, the chief owns a body shop and all was taken care of- ahh yes, the good times!