Fire officials urging people to grill safely this holiday weekend

Memorial Day weekend is known as the unofficial start to summer and emergency responders want you to kick off the holiday safely.

With nice weather on tap for much of Mid-Missouri on Monday, you can expect to see more people out grilling, at the lake and outdoors.

Emergency responders such as the Boone County Fire Protection District want to remind grill users to do so safely.

“Memorial (Day) weekend, it’s kind of the kick off to summer, so to speak,” Gale Blomenkamp, Assistant Chief Boone County Fire Protection District said.

If you plan on cooking outdoors the fire district wants to remind you to always supervise the grill, never grill indoors, keep a safe distance and don’t grill on decks or near tree branches.

“If you’re barbecuing with the charcoal grill on a wooden deck you’re taking a chance,” Blomenkamp said.”Ashes can escape, fall between the boards, and you may not know it for several hours and we have had that happen.”

After the barbecuing is done, leave the charcoal in the grill to let it cool down before throwing it out, or have a bucket of water to cool it down.

Due to the weekend rain, the fire district told ABC 17 News they aren’t expecting any kind of danger for natural cover fires.