Enjoy your backyard fire pit the right way with our expert guide and safety tips. From temperature management to water instructions, learn how to put out your fire quickly and safely.
There’s not much better than sitting around a campfire at night. Whether you’re sitting around a pit in your backyard or camping out on the street, relaxing in front of a glowing ember on a chilly night is one of life’s purest pleasures.
Good flame management is not only important for your own safety, but also for the environment. With recent wildfire numbers in the US being higher than ever ( source ), we all have a responsibility to manage our well safely and efficiently.
Gas fire pits are easy thanks to their propane controls, but wood fire pits need to be approached more carefully. As with any fire management, you need to follow the right steps and precautions. Our guide will help you with this.
Using a combination of shovel and garden hose, we attempt to submerge the ash from the pit to cool and extinguish the deep embers. Let’s get to the guide.
How to put out a wood fire pit
Materials needed
- Large stick/shovel
- garden pant
- A big bucket of water
- fire extinguisher
- Heat resistant gloves
Step-by-step instructions
- Burn the wood to ashes
- Cool them by adding water.
- Mix and cool the ash.
- Continue to cool the wood.
- When you’re done, throw the ashes into a metal bucket.
Burn the wood to ashes
When some people feel that a fire pit is no longer needed, they only think about putting it out immediately, forgetting that there are a few factors to consider before acting. You have to be patient enough to let the wood turn to ash. This makes the whole process easy for you. In some cases, the wood may not burn completely and you will have to use a stick to put out the fire. You have to be careful as you must not lose the remaining wood by hitting it on the hot ash. That doesn’t mean that if the ashes aren’t glowing, they’re out of heat. It can still suffocate.
Prepare water to extinguish the fire pit.
Once all the wood is burned, that doesn’t mean it’s now safe to pour water into the well. This could cause the hole to rupture. You can’t just pour the water in without tasting it. Pour some water as soon as you feel safe to do so you can start adding more water. If you hear cracking noises, don’t panic. That’s how it should be when some ashes still have fire. In this case, you need to pour water not only on the red ash. What gives you the assurance that there is no more fire is that there is no more sound being made.
Use a long-handled shovel to stir
You have to mix the embers and the pieces of wood that are not completely burned with a stick or shovel. This is done to ensure that all the material in the pit is completely burned off.
Your ashes want them
It’s not a good idea to leave the ashes in the fire, even if there’s no fire left. Leaving ash inside will cause rust in the fire pit. Be sure to empty them.
Check your surroundings
Yes, you are sure that the ashes and the pieces of wood are no longer burning, but you must make sure that there is no fire near the well. There may be dry grass or bush around the area where the fire is. Make sure nothing is near a fire in this area. If you are unsure, you can still check the temperature inside and outside the fire pit. There should be no more heat in the vicinity.
Safety instructions
You should consult your insurance company before using our fire pit. Using and opening your fire pit for your use may be a necessary condition of your police force. Just as you need to sit by the window on a bus and be able to save others in an emergency, you need to know how to put out the fire in your fireplace.
Move the furniture off the fire pit chairs to have two or ten feet of free space. Not only does this give you room to maneuver, but also that sparks or stray ash pose a fire hazard.
When using your fire pit, put on your safety gloves to be absolutely sure you don’t burn your fingers.
You need to put a protective screen in the backyard to keep sparks from escaping the fire pit and starting a fire outside the pit.
It is imperative to check the day’s weather before making the fire. A windy day can create a very dangerous scene. Ash and embers can fly out of the fireplace and fall to the ground.
YOU should be aware of certain outdoor fire restrictions that were in place at that particular time.
You need a necessary hose that is reliable and efficient as it can continuously save with water. A fire extinguisher is also a must when it comes to fighting a fire. Make sure you can master it. A class A fire extinguisher is what I recommend. It is very important to follow the instructions and regularly maintain your fire extinguisher.
Do not leave children alone near the campfire. Even if you are so sure that only ashes remain, do not let children die alone.
The surrounding area should be filled with dry grass and leaves as this can fuel a forest fire.
The last word
Having a campfire while having fun with friends can be exciting and dangerous at the same time. You don’t have to overlook the thought of having enough knowledge about putting out fires in a fire pit. Random action can affect a person, if not everyone around them. Make sure the wood burns to ash. Patience is a requirement. Once it is safe to pour water, YOU can do so. Checking your surroundings is just as important as checking the well so you don’t notice the possibility of a fire. Temperature control is a must. You can use sand to put out a fire or extinguisher, but it won’t completely cool the ashes.
Writer & content creator. BBQ fanatic!
