New Jersey Townhomes May Ban Grilling

In a culture which finds it necessary to warn consumers that a clear jar of peanuts contains peanuts, when the peanuts are clearly visible, and the label already says "PEANUTS," I suppose this sort of thing makes sense.

The Hermitage Townhomes Complex is discussing whether or not to allow residents of the townhomes to cook outside, using barbecue grills. The fire marshal said to have the grills a certain distance from the houses, which put the grills in the back yards.

That's not enough for the housing board. They think grills are unsafe, and want them banned.

Grillers of the World Unite! You Have Nothing to Lose But Your Fire Permit!

The residents didn't see it that way, and raised a fuss.

It's anyone's guess how this will come out.

The housing board has a point, in a way. a few days ago, someone let a barbecue fire get out of hand. About $10,000-worth of car and house got cooked, instead of the meal. And, fire can spread easily in townhouses.

It's not just a safety issue. The housing board is afraid that all those people grilling in their back yards will bring down the property values.

Maybe the board thinks that most people are afraid of barbecue grills and the fires they cause. Or, maybe it's a class distinction thing.

I rather hope that the folks living in Hermitage Townhomes Complex get to keep their grills.

Related posts:

• "Don't Set Fire to Yourself or Your House: Good Advice from the NFPA"
  (June 16, 2009)
• "Fire Safety, or A Tale of Two Matches"
  (August 11, 2007)
• "Most Important Grilling Tool: Common Sense"
  (July 31, 2007)

In the news:

• "To grill or not to grill?"
  The Voorhees Sun (June 25, 2009)
• "Wayward barbecue grills house, vehicle in Martinez"
  San Jose Mercury News (June 23, 2009)

Competitive BBQ? Teams??

"Grill Girls"
Episode GXSP01H Food Network

"Move over Master of the Grill. All over America, there's a new chef (wo)manning the fire and she s discovering the thrill of the grill! We follow an all-women s barbecue team hoping to make a name for themselves on the BBQ circuit...."

I did a little checking around, and discovered that there really are BBQ cooking team competitions. Also, that Lee & Bobbie McWright are fairly well-known BBQers, and that the ABS cooking team used to be called the Music City Pig Pals. (The Smoke Ring forum)

There's more about the McWright's at Music City Catering, Pleasant View, Tennessee.

I love grilling - but as a competition? I suppose there could be the BBQ equivalent of a drag race: see who can carbonize a rack of ribs first. Or maybe see who makes the loudest "whoomp!" when the gas ignites. No, that last one would be a bit too risky.

A strange picture came to mind: two teams, facing each other in the field, pushing a grill back and forth, each trying to score a touchdown. I've probably watched too much Monty Python.

I think I'll stick to burgers on the weekend, with the occasional steak, chicken and/or whole potatoes.

Don't Set Fire to Yourself or Your House: Good Advice from the NFPA

If you've read the "Extreme Safety: Above and Beyond the Call of Reason" page on Easy Griller, you know that I'm not a particularly jittery advocate of safety.

I think that's partly because I remember a world where transparent jars of peanuts didn't have a 'warning - contain peanuts' label. Growing up next door to regions where being stupid sometimes resulted in your body being recovered next spring may have contributed.

Given the legal and cultural system that makes it necessary for manufacturers to warn people that a see-through jar of peanuts, labeled "PEANUTS," contains peanuts, I didn't know what to expect from an outfit with "protection" in its name.

I was pleasantly surprised at "Grilling" (NFPA (National Fire Protection Association)). The page has some common-sense "safety tips" about how to use propane and charcoal BBQ grills without setting fire to yourself or your house.

There's a collection of "Facts & Figures" that shows why being careful with grills - particularly the ones that use liquid propane - is important. ("...Although gas grills are used roughly 1.5 times as often as charcoal grills, they were involved in five times as many fires...."

NFPA's page has links to audio recordings, and (in principle) a video about grilling safety. In practice, if you start at NFPA's page, you'll drop into the second of two videos.

I figured, if there's a video #2, there was probably a video #1. And, sure enough, there is. I put both of them here, from NFPA's YouTube account.

Together, they take less than six minutes to view, and have some pretty good, common-sense advice, like:

"...If you see a white fog, or smell gas, it's a sign of a leak. It's very unlikely, but if it should happen, just call your local fire department for help...."

"...Now, grills are not inherently dangerous, but any time you work with fire, there are risks...."

The second video discusses some safety aspects of charcoal grills. And, gave a good reason for keeping high-velocity kids and grills away from each other. Emergency rooms report that children younger than five account for about a quarter of burns from hot grills.

Finally, the NFPA videos give the viewer credit for some sense. Not once does NFPA's Principal Gas Engineer, Ted Lemoff, say 'don't pour gasoline on a burning grill.'

"Grilling Safety Tips - Part 1"

nfpadotorg, YouTube (June 01, 2009)
video 2:52

"Grilling Safety Tips - Part 2"

nfpadotorg, YouTube (May 22, 2009)
video 2:58