Almost burned down my house!

[prudentsmoker]

Not sure if this is the right place to post this. I was cooking on the Weber using one of the chimney style charcoal starters. It worked great, but I did not realize that a coal had burned just the right amount to be caught in the coil at the bottom. I had set the starter on the deck, the coal burned thru, and now I have a burned hole in my deck. Had I not caught it, it would have set the deck on fire. Just wanted to share this with you guys.

 

[gregbooras]

Wow sounds like you got lucky, glad no one was hurt!

Greg

 

[DivotMaker]

Lucky catch, Brian!  A hole in the deck is more repairable than a house!  Lesson learned, for sure!

 

[old sarge]

Happy to hear you caught it in time. May want to use an old cookie sheet or jelly roll pan to set the chimney on.  I use lump mesquite for my Weber and that stuff is just plain explosive.  Sparks and embers poppin' and hoppin' all over. A good non-flammable surface is a must for me.

 

[RG]

Been there, done that. My wife had the chimney starter rolling along nicely on my old propane gas grill (that was what it was relegated to, lol). During the transfer from the gas grill to the sidebox of the smoker, a little ember fell into a little cardboard box that had some ashes in it and came back inside to get some chicken ready. She went back outside and the house was on FIYA!!

Not good.

THIS single act is what made me make my little outdoor kitchen area below this very deck. If the flames made it up into that eave, the house would've lit up like Christmas once the insulation in the attic caught fire. The house would've been toast!

There are no hot grills that can melt siding anymore

The Kegs are located away from it as is the drop in gasser. The Traeger gets pulled out from the wall when we use it.

 

[gregbooras]

Been there, done that. My wife had the chimney starter rolling along nicely on my old propane gas grill (that was what it was relegated to, lol). During the transfer from the gas grill to the sidebox of the smoker, a little ember fell into a little cardboard box that had some ashes in it and came back inside to get some chicken ready. She went back outside and the house was on FIYA!!

Not good.

THIS single act is what made me make my little outdoor kitchen area below this very deck. If the flames made it up into that eave, the house would've lit up like Christmas once the insulation in the attic caught fire. The house would've been toast!

There are no hot grills that can melt siding anymore

The Kegs are located away from it as is the drop in gasser. The Traeger gets pulled out from the wall when we use it.

RG,

Another Wow moment......

Not good, glad it was minor, but I am sure at the time.....

Greg

 

[jcboxlot]

I use an old 12 x 12 kitchen floor tile for my charcoal chimney.  I set it down on that after the dump.  While its heating/starting I put on the lower grate in the grill.

I hate hearing stories or seeing pictures like that.  As careful as were probably all are, you almost just cant take the eyes off of some grilling machines.

 

[prudentsmoker]

Thanks to everyone for sharing. If we save one guy's house it was worthwhile.