Your Health: Grilling Safety

Grilling is fast, easy and delicious.

But, if not done properly, it can also be dangerous.

Firefighters respond to numerous grill fires that get out of control, so they have some warnings. 

"Try to be at least ten feet away from your home. Try to be ten feet away from your wooden fence, your garage...Just make sure you have enough separation because if something does go wrong, you don't need to lose your house because you wanted to have a couple of hamburgers," said Watertown Fire Department Captain James Holland.

Holland also has some advice for preventing injury while lighting a gas grill.

"Make sure you open the lid when you're lighting it. Don't let the gas build up inside the grill because most burns occur when when people are lighting their grills," said

Also to prevent problems, always clean the fat and grease in the trays below the grill. 

When using a charcoal grill, only use charcoal lighter fluid to get it going and no other flammable liquid.

Holland has one final warning - make sure kids stay clear of the hot grill and keep matches and charcoal lighter fluid out of their reach. 

For more information, check out the fire department's Facebook page.