Safety for your outdoor firepit

Fire pits can offer a cozy and fun way to spend clear, Fall evenings. They offer a variety of activity for your family including s'more making, marshmallow roasting, singing, visiting and more. They can even assist you with educating your children about how to make a safe fire and keep it burning brightly.

Here are some safety tips that Rich's for the Home recommends to keep your fire and family happy:

1. Use Fire Starters to start the flames as opposed to paper. Paper breaks apart easily. It can blow away and spread flames.
2. Make seating around the fire movable so that people can move back if flames get too big or too hot.
3. As tempting as it is to place your fire pit right on your back porch, you should consider other placement if your porch is made from wood and/or if your house is within 8 feet of it.
4. Don't use your fire pit to burn garbage.
5. Stack wood near your fire pit in a safe (not towering) small pile.
   Better yet, keep it enclosed via a bin or wheelbarrow. Move remainder
   of wood far away from fire pit when done with fire.
6. Don't toss in items that won't really burn. It is not the place for soda cans.
7. Buy a screen for the top of your fire pit. Use it if embers start flying.
8. Teach children not to run and play around the fire pit while a fire is burning.
9. Teach children to respect the fire and the power of it. Show them what a flying ember can do to nearby leaves, for instance. Or how a stick turns black when it is placed in the fire.
10. Instill rules such as not starting a fire without an adult home and how to make sure the fire is out when people are done with it. 
11. If you have small children, practice the "Stop" concept. Children need to learn that when you say "Stop!", they are immediately to stop moving and freeze wherever they are. Practice it often, reteach it as often as you can and demand respect of it. (This also helps you if you have a busy road near your home).
12. Use long-handled lighters as opposed to short, wooden matches.
13. Make sure that your wood supply is dry, versus green, and that you have a good amount of smaller pieces to assist in starting the fire.