It’s the Fourth of July this coming weekend! With restrictions loosening statewide, that means cook-outs, fireworks, and fun family outings. But with the record breaking heat wave that rolled across western Washington last week it’s prudent that we all exercise caution to keep our homes, neighborhood, and state safe.
Here are our tips from our team at MaxCARE on how to celebrate safely and mitigate risk this holiday weekend.
Grilling on the Fourth of July
While you may be known as the grill-master in your home, grilling-safety should always be a #1 priority. Grilling disasters start as many as 10,000 house-fires annually. Luckily, grilling incidents are easily avoidable. Here are a few easy-to-remember rules of thumb:
- Never grill indoors. This includes in a camper, RV, camper van, tent: If there is anything besides sky above you, don’t do it.
- Always keep an eye on an open flame.
- Never let children or animals play near an open flame.
- Use spatulas and other cooking equipment that have long handles. This can reduce the risk of injury.
- Do not spray lighter fluid or other accelerants on an open flame.
- Cook far away from houses, sheds, or furniture that could easily light. Do not cook in dry fields are around brush that could catch fire easily.
Firework Safety
As we saw with the devastating fires in California last year, it only takes one stray spark to catch an entire forest ablaze. With the conditions of the past week, there may likely be a burn ban in your area. If there is, LISTEN. It is better to exercise caution than to put the homes and lives of yourself and others at risk. For information on burn bans throughout Washington State visit the Washington State Department of Natural Resources ‘Burn Ban’ page.
If there is no burn ban active in your area, it is still wise to take steps to ward against starting a wildfire. Here are some basic tips to handling fireworks safely:
- Never attempt to relight a firework that didn’t go off the first time. There is a chance that is it fault and could explode prematurely, causing injury and sending sparks all over the place.
- Don’t light multiple fireworks at once. There are too many variables that could result in premature explosion.
- Keep a bucket of water nearby in case anything goes array.
- Set off your fireworks in a low-risk area (i.e., on even, clear pavement versus in the middle of a dry field). Make sure you are far from structures that could catch fire.
- Keep fireworks you aren’t using away from the ‘launchpad’ in a dry place.
While these tips may seem like no-brainers, they are extremely important in preventing fires.
MaxCARE of Washington is standing by with 24/7 assistance in the case of fire. If something does happen this Fourth of July weekend, we are here to help assess and repair damages. Have questions? Contact us on the web or give us a call at 253-201-2053.