A recent house fire in Chester was caused by fire getting outside of a grill, catching the outside of the house ablaze, with spread to the inside. Firefighters arrived to find the exterior rear of the house in flames, with extension into the attic. No one was injured, but the house suffered extensive damage. I do not know how the fire got outside of the grill, so I will have to offer causes based upon past experience. Some reasons that fire can get outside of the grill are as follows: Lack of maintenance to a propane grill, excessive lighter fluid sprayed outside of a charcoal grill, a charcoal grill that gets knocked over, loose connection between the bottle and the burner, allowing gas to leak, a grill that is used too close to easily ignited combustibles, and coals dropping from the bottom of your grill onto a wooden deck.
While I am on this subject, neither charcoal nor propane grills should be used on any multi-family balcony. In fact, it is against county ordinances to do this. Though a balcony could have a sidewall sprinkler head, most balconies are unprotected. I recently stayed in a friend’s condominium. We were cooking on a charcoal grill on the balcony, when a building occupant asked what we were we doing? My friend said that does this all of the time. This should be a good reminder of why you would want to purchase renter’s insurance, when the actions of others can quickly affect you.
As with any heat source, there needs to be a safe distance between the heat source and all combustibles. Though it may be harder for some combustibles to ignite than others, the possibility always exists. Another problem that occurs is that a heat source may come in contact with a combustible over a long period of time, drying out the wood and causing it to catch fire at some point.
Whatever causes a fire to get into your home, it is absolutely necessary that you have a proper number of properly operating smoke alarms. Attics are not normally monitored by smoke alarms. As I have told you before, a fire that starts on the outside and then gets inside the house has a head start on any monitoring or fire suppression system. As long as the fire burns away from detection devices, only neighbors or the homeowner will notice. Make it a point to perform preventative maintenance on your grill, replacing parts when necessary. If the grill cannot be repaired, then replace it.
