Summer alters our lifestyle. We dust off the grills, pack the patios, run the air conditioning nonstop, extend the hours, and load the equipment in our businesses to accommodate all the summer activity. While that’s part of summer’s appeal, it’s also the reason that the fire risk skyrockets from June to September.
Summer’s heat pushes electrical systems; the drought makes the yard and the building’s perimeter all the more combustible, and common summer activities-barbecues, fireworks-bring open flame into an environment that isn’t always meant to handle it.
This doesn’t mean summer has to be hazardous. Almost all season-related fires can be avoided once you know where the real threat lies. In this article, we look at the top sources of summer fires in the house and workplace, and what is achievable in terms of prevention.
At Home: Where the Risk Really Comes From
They are the great summer traditions: backyard barbecues, fire pits, Fourth of July fireworks, and second homes that sit dark for days. These images conjure a perfect summer, but each poses its own threat of fire if not managed responsibly.
Take particular care of your grill, since it is the leading cause of home fires in the summer.
Keep grills far away from fences, siding, and branches (a ten-foot clearance is preferable), and don’t leave it unattended while hot. Smoking grease can cause fires just as easily as an open flame, so while the heat source may draw the eye, don’t forget to keep the catch pan and grill in good shape behind the scenes. Make sure the charcoal cools before tipping on the trash or spreading on fire-hungry grass.
The rationale of a pit or a family with a bonfire, bright matches the rules. The fire seems manageable, but it can become wild if the breeze is in the wrong direction or the neighbor has some molasses he wants to burn off. Having the garden hose, a bucket, or the fire extinguisher on hand, avoiding accelerants such as gas, and overwhelming the bonfire before you head back inside are all aspects of your fire safety training. Also, check whether there are any burn restrictions where you live, as these sometimes become stricter when the rains are late.
Fireworks are a more difficult example, because the hazard isn’t really about your technique; it’s about the product. Consumer fireworks are to blame for thousands of fires and injuries annually, and they can’t be made completely safe, even with absolutely careful handling. If you do utilize them, keep them far from dry grass and any infrastructure, never hand them to any children without adult supervision, and have a good supply of water as well. But truthfully, a professional display really is safer, and some families consider it worth sacrificing their backyard tradition for a blanket on the grass at the town display.
Another area where there is a lot of increased stress this time of year is your home’s electrical wiring. While service calls for ACs, pool pumps, and excessive lighting spikes are very common in the summer, an overloaded circuit or a damaged extension cord left outdoors can be a silent contributor to house fires. If circuit breaker trips are happening more frequently than normal, or you feel an outlet at home is warm to the touch, it should be looked at by a professional electrician before a worse problem develops.
Last but not least, in a handful of regions where summers are dry, the risk of fires enters the equation as well. Removing fallen leaves and dried plant material, pruning trees and bushes away from the house, removing leaves and debris from gutters, and storing firewood at least 30’ away from the house are commonly known as defensible space-the buffer needed to protect a home should the flames come calling.
At Work: Fire Safety Doesn’t Take a Season Off
The same concept varies from business to business. Adding an outdoor dining area at a restaurant, increasing the use of ventilating or heating equipment at a warehouse or office, running heavy equipment into the evening at a construction site, all of these “seasonal” changes factor into the equation.
And the first principle for any business property is the reassurance that the building’s fire protection systems are in working order, not to be taken for granted. The frequency at which these systems should be inspected depends on the state and your local Authority Having Jurisdiction, but the general NFPA advice provides a good starting point:
- Fire sprinkler systems are required to be checked every 3 months at least, more deeply checked every 6 months, yearly, and every 5 years.
- Alarms, smoke detectors, and heat detectors should be tested twice a year.
- Extinguishers should be visually checked monthly and undergo a complete servicing by a qualified technician once a year.
- Monthly push tests of emergency lighting are recommended every 30 seconds. Annually, the entire system should undergo a 90-minute burn test.
- Not bypassing these is more than a guideline violation-it’s where you differentiate between a system that functions when necessary and a system that silently fails until the last moment.
Electrical load is the commercial version of the problem we see in homes, only larger. The presence of air conditioning, longer operating hours for refrigeration and other equipment, combined with older wiring and overloaded panels that don’t always let you know they are about to fail, can cause the electrical load to become dangerous. Carrying out an electrical audit before the summer rush, combined with regular HVAC inspection and timely replacement of burnt wiring, can help avoid a fire that begins in the wall and develops while no one is around to notice.
When your business handles flammable liquids, chemicals, or combustible items, the summer heat makes an issue that should be a year-round concern even more critical. Good ventilation, obvious with clear labels, waste disposal, and keeping the storage areas free of excess clutter, all provide less fuel to a blaze if the worst happens. It is worth revisiting how well these controls are implemented in reality rather than in the health and safety manual.
Outside activities have their unique hazards as well – a restaurant’s patio cooking arrangement, a construction site’s fuel storage, an industrial plant’s outdoor equipment. Irradiation and contamination by mishandled fuels in a building’s outdoor machinery, pathways through vegetation near the building, and smoke restricted to dedicated areas all get to the components of a business that go beyond the four walls.
But none of that is of much use if your staff aren’t aware of what to do in the event of an emergency. Emergency escape routes, how to use fire extinguishers and alert authorities, keeping emergency exits clear – these are things that could do with being revised once a season, not once a year at induction. Being equipped with a good fire system is great; the people in the building are just as important.
The Bottom Line
Summer fire safety isn’t about eliminating risk — grilling, fireworks, and hot weather aren’t going away. It’s about recognizing where the risk concentrates and building small, consistent habits around it, whether that’s giving a grill enough clearance or making sure a sprinkler system gets its quarterly check. The precautions themselves are rarely complicated.
What they require is attention, especially during the months when it’s easiest to let them slide.
If you’re a business owner looking to get ahead of the season, Encore Fire Protection can inspect your fire protection systems and help make sure everything is in working order before summer puts it to the test.