Making Sure Your Fire Pit Is Safe
If you have acquired a fire pit, then you are probably interested in making sure that safety is in order when you light the flames! That is why we have created this guide that gives you all the information you need to make sure you use your fireplace in a safe and responsible way.
When dealing with fire, there is always some danger involved, but this danger can be significantly reduced if you know what safety measures you must take in relation to having a fire in the garden, on the terrace or wherever you want to place your fire pit - you can place a fire pit in most places!
This is the advantage of a campfire dish, rather than making your own campfire or building a campfire site - you can place it where you want and you can easily move it. If you do not already have a fire pit for those summer evenings, then you can find exactly what suits you and your garden here:
Things You Need to Have Ready when Building and Lighting a Fire
Here is a list of things that are good to have on hand when you need to make a fire in your fire pit:
- Clean and dry wood! Both small and large pieces. It is important that the wood you use on your fire is dry so that it does not create too much smoke, and that it is not treated so that it can create environmentally harmful and toxic fumes.
- Environmentally friendly starters, wood briquettes, lighter fluid or similar. These products make it easier for you to get your bonfire going.
- Lighter or matches. It may be unnecessary to mention, but of course you need some fire to get lit up in the fire.
- Water! It is important to always have water nearby or a large bucket of water close to the fire.
- A fire poker, fire extinguisher, rod or similar. It is a good idea to have a tool to move or rake the embers, both while the fire is lit, but also when it is to be lit or extinguished.
- Optional: You could get a metal lid for fire bowl. With a lid for your fire bowl, you can make sure that no rain comes into the dish.
- Optional: A bottom plate for a fire pit. If you want to secure or protect the underside under the fire pit, then it may be a good idea to have a plate under the fire.
If you want to cook over the fire, then the following things are good to have:
- Bonfire grate in stainless steel or black bonfire grate: If you need to make food over the fire, then it may be worth investing in a grate for the fire. Here you can both lay the grate on the edge of the fire pit.
- Bonfire stand: You can also use a tripod bonfire stand with a grill grate in it, to put over the fire pit.
- Fire bowl: You can also use a campfire pot to cook on the fire. It can be put directly in the fire, and gives an even warming.
- Cast iron frying pan: You can also get a cast iron pan to cook over the fire. It can e.g. put on a campfire grill, and is perfect for cooking out in nature.
Safe Placement of a Fire Bowl
When it comes to rules about making bonfires and using bonfires, it is the UK government, based on the guidelines for open fires and wood burning stoves, that sets the rules. In relation to where one may place a fire pit, there are no specific rules, however, it is made clear that it is the individual's responsibility to act carefully and responsibly in the handling of fire.
However, there are some guidelines and advice on how to make and place a bonfire, in a safe and secure way. Among other things, there are some guidelines in relation to safe distances when placing your firebox. These rules apply to small bonfires and fire pits with a diameter of between 80 cm and 120 cm.
All our fire pits are under 120 cm, but if you need to make a larger fire, you can check the UK government's guide to Caution when burning, using fire, light and heat sources, etc. here.
As a starting point, it is advisable to have a minimum distance to buildings of 10 meters. However, it is raised to 15m if the building has a highly flammable roof, such as a thatched roof. The 15-meter distance also applies to flammable products, explosive or flammable substances, coniferous plants, heather-covered areas or other flammable vegetation and flammable field crops.
However, the distances of 10 and 15 meters are doubled with strong winds. And if the wind speed exceeds 10.8-13.8 m / sec., The fire must not be ignited at all.
In addition to the rules about distances, it is also a good idea to take into consideration the location of the fire in relation to wind direction and neighbours. Here it is important to think about not placing it in a place where the wind will cause the smoke to be blown into the neighbours' garden where they are sitting. It may also be a good idea to place it in a place with a lot of shelter.
Secure Surface for the Fireplace
Another consideration in relation to placing your fire bowl in a safe place is what surface you place it on. You may have thought "Can campfire stand on wooden deck?". Here, however, there are no rules - but, there are some rules of thumb that are good to follow.
Here the most important thing is just to think about how flammable the surface is. It will e.g. not be a particularly good idea to place a fire pit on a wooden terrace as it is highly flammable and the embers flying from the fire can ignite the wood.
On the other hand, there are plenty of other types of surfaces that are suitable for placing a fire pit on:
- Tiles
- Gravel
- Sand
- Grass (as long as it is not very dry)
- Dirt
So when you have to choose where you want to place your fire pit, the rule of thumb is just that you consider the risk of fire at the surface you place the fireplace on.
Ignite and Extinguish Your Fire Safely
Light Your Fire the Right Way
When you need to light a fire in your firepit, there are some tips that are important to follow, to make sure that it gets lit in a safe way.
Firstly, it is important to use clean, dry wood in the firebox. Pressured, impregnated or painted wood must not be used, as this may emit toxic and environmentally harmful fumes. Damp wood is not toxic or harmful to the environment, but it will produce a lot of smoke, so we recommend that you use dry wood to start your fire.
In addition, you can use environmentally friendly lighter cubes, wood briquettes, etc. You must be aware that you must not use waste to light your fire. Nor garden waste, unless otherwise stipulated by your municipality.
NEVER use flammable liquid such as petrol or alcohol on a campfire! This can be extremely dangerous and can cause an explosion.
When you need to light up your fire pit, it is a good idea to stack the fire with large pieces of wood at the bottom, and smaller pieces at the top. This will make it easier to get the fire going faster.
Here you can see our colleague, Michael, explain how to best light a fire pit:
See how to best ignite a fire pit
Extinguish Your Fire Safely
When you make a fire, you can choose to let it burn out completely. That way, your fire is extinguished by itself, but you must make sure that it is completely extinguished before you leave the fire. It is important to make sure that there are no more embers - when there is no more smoke, then there are no more embers.
It can also be a really good idea to just pour a little water on the fire, to make sure it is completely off.
As mentioned, it is generally important to always have water readily available when making a fire. Both to put out the fire, but also because the fire can spread to dry grass or the like, which can ignite by flying embers from the fire, which must be extinguished quickly or you can burn yourself and the area, it is therefore important to quickly put water on the burned area.
If you want to extinguish the fire before it burns out, then of course it is important to first stop adding more firewood to the fire. If there are still large flames, it can be difficult to just extinguish the fire. But the important thing is to put out the embers and lower the temperature, so you can start by spreading the fire with a pair of tongs, a stick, a fire extinguisher or the like. Then you can pour water on the fire and rummage in it with a stick or fire tongs until all the embers are extinguished.
Safety in Relation to Children and Open Fires
When you make a fire in your fire pit with the children, it is important to remember to think about safety and talk to the children about the dangers of making a fire and having an open fire.
It is a good idea here to set some clear rules about how to deal with the fire, and also talk about what to do in case something goes wrong. It is a good idea to talk about how close they can go to the fire and what they can and must not do, such as e.g., to lay firewood on the fire. Here, of course, one can take age into account.
It is also a good idea to think about what clothes the children are wearing. Of course, it's just as good an idea to think about one's own attire when one's near the fire. Synthetic clothing, such as nylon, gets very easily ignited, so it may be an idea to have non-synthetic clothing, such as jeans, leather, cotton, etc. on. In addition, loose or fluttering clothes, cords and other things are not very appropriate in relation to open fire.
Fire Pit with Extra Safety
If you are a little unsure about having a fire and open fire in the garden or on the terrace, but you still think it is really cozy, then you can choose to buy a fire pit with extra security in the form of a spark catcher. We have fire pits, where there is a steel mash as a lid for the fireplace, which acts as a spark catcher.
This means that you can have a fire in the garden, but with greater certainty. We have these fire pits, which come with spark arrestors, which give you extra security:
Firepit with grill and mesh (OUT-80-238)