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!

 

[EddieWalker]

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

Robert,

I became an Eagle Scout when I was a Freshman in high school. I'm not sure what Merit Badges that I earned, but know that first aid was one of them. The Marine Corps also had quite a bit of training on first aid. But I'm the type that does not remember details. I can remember how to do something, how it goes together and visualize it, but for the life of me, I have to check my notes all the time for small details and exact measurements.

From your post, and the condition of her skin, she had third degree burns. I really doubted it after thinking about what her face looked like when she got back from Germany. You couldn't tell from looking at her, and she wasn't the type of girl who would wear makeup. She had gone native and was wanting to become a villagers third wife!!!!

Eddie

 

[mjarrels]

We used to have "Steel Beach Picnics" on aircraft carriers and would have 200 plus charcoal grills going all at once cooking steaks, sliders and rollers. I was always a bit on edge due to the fact that we had many fueled aircraft on deck and ship was always carring millions of gallons of JP-5 jet fuel.

mark

Navy 3
Pirates 0

 

[Scrounger]

We used to have "Steel Beach Picnics" on aircraft carriers and would have 200 plus charcoal grills going all at once cooking steaks, sliders and rollers. I was always a bit on edge due to the fact that we had many fueled aircraft on deck and ship was always carring millions of gallons of JP-5 jet fuel.

mark

Navy 3
Pirates 0

I'd rather cook around any blend of jet fuel than around a plain ole car with gasoline in it. Its a lot safer.

 

[jimmysisson]

Late '60s in Alaska (before environmental awareness) I worked forest fires, and we were flown in in Bell Jet Rangers. They used to 'chute the drums of fuel onto sandbars or wherever they could and some drums cracked open. Since it might be contaminated, they'd burn off the jet fuel right on the edge of the river. I remember it being hard as dickens to light off, they usually used a propane torch or threw burning spruce chunks into the pool edge to get it going. LOTS of black smoke!
Jim

 

[NewToy]

Bird, you must use all your persuaviness and discourage your neighbor from ever throwing his hat into the "deep fried turkey" arena. This will not turn out well for them or quite possibly the neighborhood depending how dry the grass is. It may behoove you to "seat up" and get some type of fire break cut between your property and his. You may have educated him on the grill, but this sounds like a fella that has disaster following him around full-time due to a common sense deficiency.


John

 

[Bird]

Bird, you must use all your persuaviness and discourage your neighbor from ever throwing his hat into the "deep fried turkey" arena. This will not turn out well for them or quite possibly the neighborhood depending how dry the grass is. It may behoove you to "seat up" and get some type of fire break cut between your property and his. You may have educated him on the grill, but this sounds like a fella that has disaster following him around full-time due to a common sense deficiency.


John

Yep, I understand that, John. If they want a fried turkey, I'll let them use my turkey fryer with me standing by to supervise.