Quick answers
Is it safe to use a charcoal or gas grill indoors?
No. Using a grill, charcoal brazier or generator indoors, in a garage or on an enclosed balcony creates both fire and carbon-monoxide hazards. Use grills outdoors only, away from walls, eaves, branches and stored fuel.
How to keep air conditioners safe from fire in summer?
Inspect AC plugs, sockets and cables for heat, looseness, damage or discoloration, and use a correctly rated circuit where required. Do not run high-load cooling equipment through undersized extension leads, and get competent repair for faults.
How to safely dispose of charcoal or ash after a barbecue?
Cool the ash before putting it in a metal container. Placing warm charcoal or ash in plastic, paper or ordinary waste is a mistake that can start a fire.
What to do if a vegetation fire is approaching my area?
Follow official alerts and leave early when authorities direct; do not wait to see flames. Take a prepared kit with medicines, documents and water without delaying, use official routes, and do not drive into smoke.
From March to June, much of India bakes. Fields and forest floors dry out, ACs and coolers run all day and night, wiring heats up, and a stray spark finds plenty to burn. Summer brings its own fire risks, at home and outdoors. Here is what to watch for.
ACs, coolers and wiring
An AC that runs for hours puts a heavy, steady load on the plug, the socket and the wiring behind the wall. Many summer house fires start right there.
You may have heard that you should switch the AC off now and then to “rest” it and prevent a fire. We found no evidence for that. A healthy AC does not need a rest. What keeps it safe is:
- a socket and circuit of the right rating for each AC, put in by a licensed electrician;
- no extension boards or multi-plug adaptors for ACs, geysers, coolers or other heavy appliances;
- cleaning and servicing by a qualified technician before the summer starts.
Feel the plug after the AC has been running. If it is hot, smells of burning plastic, looks brown or black, sparks or keeps tripping the MCB, switch it off and get an electrician. Do not just keep resetting the breaker.
Barbecues, tandoors and sigris
A charcoal sigri or barbecue on the terrace is part of many summer evenings. Use them only in the open air, never inside a room, garage or closed balcony. Burning charcoal gives off carbon monoxide, which has no smell and can kill.
- Keep the grill at least 1 metre (about 3 feet) from walls, railings, eaves and overhanging branches, as US fire safety guidance advises, and keep children and pets that far away too.
- Clean off old grease before you start.
- Never pour kerosene, petrol or spirit on the coals to get them going.
- Never leave a lit grill alone.
- Let the ash cool completely, then put it in a metal container, not a plastic bucket or the dustbin.
US data shows how common grill fires are where grills are used a lot. The NFPA estimated an average of 10,600 grill fires a year in the US from 2014 to 2018. About 4,900 of them involved buildings, and 84% of the grills involved, about 8,900 a year, ran on gas. India has no comparable figure.
Bonfires, campfires and burning waste
On a camping trip or a trek, check first whether fires are allowed. Forest departments often ban them in dry weather. If a fire is allowed, use an existing fire pit, keep it at least 7.5 metres (about 25 feet) from tents and bushes, keep water ready and pour it on until the ashes are cold before you leave.
At home, do not burn dry leaves, garbage or crop waste in summer. One gust of hot wind can carry sparks to a thatched roof, a haystack or the next field.
Fireworks
Summer weddings and celebrations often mean crackers. The safest choice is to watch a display run by professionals. If you do use fireworks where they are allowed, light them in an open area away from buildings, vehicles, dry grass and people, and never relight one that did not go off.
Forest and grass fires
In hill states and forested districts, summer is forest-fire season. If you live near a forest, grassland or plantation:
- clear dry leaves and branches from your roof, gutters, balcony and the area right around your house;
- keep a bag ready with medicines, copies of documents, water, a torch and phone chargers;
- know two ways out of your area and a relative or friend to contact outside it;
- follow forest department and district alerts. The Forest Survey of India runs a forest fire alert system with SMS alerts that anyone can register for;
- leave early when the authorities tell you to. Burning embers can reach your house before you see any flames.
If a fire does start
Raise the alarm and call 101 or 112 from a safe place. Use an extinguisher only on a very small fire, and only with a clear way out behind you. Never pour water on burning oil. If the fire reaches dry grass, a gas cylinder or the house, or smoke builds up, move away and leave.
This evening, put your hand on the plug of your AC after it has been on for an hour. If it is hot, book an electrician before the next heatwave.
What needs attention
- The old article's 8,900 figure was not the total number of grill fires; NFPA reported 10,600 grill fires a year, of which 8,900 involved gas grills
- Using a gas, charcoal or wood-pellet grill indoors is a fire risk and a carbon monoxide risk
- In the NFPA study, the main factors in grill fires were not cleaning, gas leaks or breaks, leaving the grill alone and having it too close to things that burn
- Switching an AC off now and then does not prevent fire; the right circuit, good condition, proper installation, cleaning and servicing do
- Fireworks can set fire to clothes, roofs and dry plants; watching a professional display avoids that risk
- Wind can carry burning embers to a building before any flames are visible
Controls that reduce risk
- Test smoke alarms and go over the family escape plan
- Check AC plugs, sockets and cables for heat, looseness, damage or brown marks
- Use a separate circuit of the right rating where needed and get faults repaired by a qualified electrician
- Move grills away from walls, eaves, branches, stored fuel and escape routes
- Keep children and pets at least 1 metre from the grill
- Clear dry leaves and branches from roofs, gutters, balconies and the area right around the home
- Keep a bag ready with medicines, documents, water, a torch, chargers and masks
- Save 101 and 112, and follow local fire, forest and IMD weather alerts
Common unsafe practices
- Using a grill, charcoal sigri or generator indoors, in a garage or on a closed balcony
- Lighting a gas grill with the lid shut
- Leaving cooking, a fire pit or a campfire alone, even for a short time
- Pouring petrol, kerosene, spirit or any other fuel on a fire
- Putting warm charcoal or ash in plastic, paper or the ordinary dustbin
- Running ACs or coolers through thin extension cords or loose multi-plug adaptors
- Resetting the MCB again and again without finding the fault
- Lighting fireworks near people, animals, buildings or dry plants, or relighting one that failed
- Waiting to see flames before obeying an order to leave during a forest fire
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