Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
> "Goomba38" > wrote in message
>>
>> But why is it any different than sitting on the deck? The only thing
>> that encloses it is the roof (high up at that) and floor to ceiling
>> screen. It gets plenty of ventilation, so it isn't'that... so
>> seriously I don't understand..?
>
> In another newsgroup the question came up. 36% of all structure
> fires are cooking related. Here is some information about grill fires
> http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/downloads/pdf/tfrs/v2i3-508.pdf
>
> While Sheldon is correct, I still have my grill on the deck, but it
> is 15' away from the house and there is no overhang above it.
(snippage)
> If you have a bad flare up on the grill, it is far more likely to do
> damage if it is next to your house, or under a roof of some sort. No
> way would I use a grill in a screened area.

In my last apartment I lived upstairs and my balcony was wooden (eek!). The
man who lived downstairs had a small fenced patio, about 8X10 sq. feet. He
appeared to have primary custody of 4 children, the oldest of which was a
boy about 14 or 15 years old. Apparently his father had told him to get
dinner going before he got home. The boy lit the (charcoal) grill and threw
some chicken on it, then went inside to play Nintendo or whatever it was he
did. Had I not been sitting on the balcony I would never have noticed the
flames shooting up (a good 4-6 feet! what the HELL did he use to light that
grill?!). The entire building could have been engaged in no time.

I ran downstairs, beat on the door and yelled your grill is on fire! The
kid got buckets of water (heh, no fire extinquisher in the place, DOH!) to
douse the flames. (That was one stupid father, by the way. He was an
appliance painter and kept paint and other flammable items on his patio
within feet of the grill.)

The ordinances in my area state grills must be at least 15 feet from the
building, regardless of the type of dwelling, and not placed on a wooden
surface or in an enclosed area. I frequently saw a number of more
intelligent people dragging their grills out onto the walkway, well away
from the buildings, if they wanted to cook out.

Jill