Cooking Out at the Cottage

Summer at the cottage and cabin to many of us means sharing good times with family and friends. Food is usually a central part of the festivities, which means plenty of cookouts, campfires and picnics. Here are some tips to help keep you safe while you enjoy the S’mores.

Campfire Safety Tips:

• Only start a campfire in a fire pit or fire ring that is made of a solid construction
• Ignite your campfire with a lighter, matches, or a magnifying glass. Never use flammable liquids to ignite or keep your fire burning. This means avoid gasoline, diesel fuel, lighter fluid and other dangerous fuels
• Pick your campfire spot carefully; avoid starting a campfire underneath low-hanging branches, steep slopes, near rotten stumps, logs, dry grass, and leaves. Fires can often flame higher than you anticipate and sparks can travel up and into the branches
• Start with small twigs and gradually add larger sticks. Be careful not to plop larger pieces of wood into the fire, sending burning ashes and sparks into the air
• Don’t stack spare firewood too close. If you’ve recently gathered some, store it upwind so that sparks don’t fly into your pile
• Don’t make your campfire too large. Use only the minimal amount of wood to keep it going. This reduces the chance of spreading the fire and makes it easier to put out later on.
• Never leave children and pets unattended near the campfire
• Teach kids how to stop, drop and roll if their clothing catches on fire. Have a fire extinguisher on hand for emergencies
• Keep your fire away from anything flammable, such as dry grass, tents, paper plates and napkins, and camping gear
• Always have on hand things to put out your fire such as water, dirt, a shovel, and a fire extinguisher and make sure your fire is completely out before leaving it unattended
• Drown the fire with water. Make sure all embers, coals and sticks are wet. Move rocks, there may be burning embers underneath. Stir the remains, add more water, and stir again. Be sure all burned material has been extinguished and cooled