# Gas grill -- gas ignited a fire ball in my face



## bgraham (Jun 30, 2005)

Last night I was going to grill some chicken. I went out, lifted the lid of the grill, turned on the tank, turned on the burner and hit the ignition switch. It did not ignite. I hit it again and it still did not ignite. My 7 yo ds came running over and I turned to him to tell him to get back (he knows he is not allowed near the grill when I am starting it). I waited until he backed away and then I turned back to the grill and hit the ignition again. 

Apparently I had waited too long. The gas exploded and a HUGE fireball engulfed me. My son let out a blood curling scream and I have never been so scared in my life. I turned to him and he had his face covered with his hands and was screaming "Am I on fire?" I pulled his hands away and he was fine. His hair was singed but other than that he was ok. 

There was a horrible burnt hair smell and my next thought was that my hair was on fire. I have long very thick hair and I grabbed it to make sure it was not burning. 

I picked him up and ran through the house to the bathroom and looked in the mirror expecting to see a horribly disfigured face. By the grace of God we were both ok. My face is not even red.

We dropped to our knees right there and thanked the Lord that he had kept us safe.

My hair was singed badly and when I brushed it out my bathroom sink and counter were covered in broken off burnt hair. 

I'm posting this because I want everyone to know how quickly things can happen. In the blink of an eye, your life can change. If something had happened to my son... well, I don't even want to think about it. Thank God he is OK. 

I use the grill all the time and I have turned it off before and waited a few minutes because it did not light right away. I should have done it this time but I was in a hurry and distracted. Later, I had a nice long talk with him about how THIS is why they are not allowed near the grill. 

I am crying again just thinking about it. 

Beth


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## jen74145 (Oct 31, 2006)

My goodness... very glad you two are okay!


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## darbyfamily (Mar 16, 2005)

How horrible!!! I always light my grill with the lid closed. I thought that was the proper way to do it...turn on burners, push ignite button...then turn down burners and open lid. Im so sorry you had to go thru that and yes, Praise the Lord for your safety!


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## bgraham (Jun 30, 2005)

Jennifer,

Please, please do not light your grill when it is closed! That can cause what happened with mine only much worse!! The gas builds up under the lid and can explode when it ignites.

My inlaws had a neighbor do that and it literally blew his skin off! There was a horrible explosion and when my inlaws ran over, he had skin hanging off his arms and face.

Beth


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## WindowOrMirror (Jan 10, 2005)

Here's what I see....

1. Horrible situation and pressure
2. You live through it
3. The first thing you did was hit your knees - with your son - and thank our Lord you were safe

Mom... your son is safe because of your example, and it's got nothing at all to do with propane.

R


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## Hears The Water (Aug 2, 2002)

Thank you for the warning, and yes... Praise God you are ok!
God bless you and yours
Deb


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## Becca65 (Jul 13, 2005)

Glad your ok, thats really scary i've had that happen to me before too, and i stayed away from the grill for a little bit, let DH light it.. 
but lighting it with the lid down would be very dangerous too..


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## Beltane (Nov 27, 2005)

I am so glad everyone is okay! 

Yes...that is my worst fear. I LOVE grilling...but I HATE the 'starting the grill' part.


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## suburbanite (Jul 27, 2006)

Bgraham, if you notice anything at all unusual about your skin go to the doctor. Oddly enough, third degree burns can look unburned for the first 24 hours and because of nerve destruction may not hurt much.

Also, if you start to feel generally sick and flu-like, go in.

People have been known to come in for the second degree burns on their hands after such incidents (which are painful), completely unaware of the third degree burn on their face.

Likelyhood of this is not terribly high but the fact your hair was burned suggests there was enough heat involved to be dangerous. Do you still have eyebrows? If so you're probably all right (but no guarantees).


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## RachAnn in NW Okla (Aug 28, 2002)

my mom's oven did this to my sister when I was wayyyyy younger (sis is 10 yrs older than I am).....she refused to light the thing....we had to light it with a match....the stove didnt have a ignition system......

let me repeat:

*Dont EVER light the grill with the lid down....the lid could explode clean off the grill.....at least with the lid open, some of the gas gets to excape...with the lid closed you are just asking for a bigger fireball*

Rachel


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## MicheleMomof4 (Jul 17, 2002)

Oh my word! I am also one who is scared to light the grill. I am so very very glad you and your son are ok. This gives me more caution than I had before when lighting it next time. 
God Bless,
Michele


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## sidepasser (May 10, 2002)

glad to hear you and your child are ok and weren't seriously injured.

that is why I use charcoal..I am scared of gas grills, gas water heaters, gas and gas stoves..

rather wait a bit for the coals to settle than risk blowing myself to bits..


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## tamatik (Jan 3, 2006)

my wife always refuses to lite it for this very reason..we had a bbq last weekend with charcoal and the tatste was very different..I n a good way


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

Wow glad you are ok. But I use Charcoal and do not want propain grills. So I don't have to worry about such things.


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## Guest (Jul 14, 2007)

bgraham said:


> Later, I had a nice long talk with him about how THIS is why they are not allowed near the grill.


 I think he understands that, now. He won't do it again. Thank God nobody got hurt.


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## TedH71 (Jan 19, 2003)

Cleaning the ends where the gas emits from cuts down on fireballs. I don't use propane. I am old school: coal and wood!


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## idontno (Sep 19, 2002)

coal in the grill........does it taste like oil?


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## Boleyz (Sep 7, 2004)

I'm a charcoal-only man myself, but I used to always stay back an arm's length and hunker down when I pushed the "Ignite" button.

That way, the fireballs are above and away from you.


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## EDDIE BUCK (Jul 17, 2005)

Glad you'er ok and gave credit to who credit was due. Another tip we sometimes forget is on those days when smoke and clouds hang close to the ground so does fumes from gas, charcoal lighter fluid. When lit the flame follows the fumes, even inside a house if a window or door is open.


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## longshot38 (Dec 19, 2006)

im glad your both ok. i had a similar situation years ago lost my eye brows, mustash, and some hair. has nothing to do with my present lack of hair though  just be glad that everyone is ok and your attention is sure to be on that gas and where everyone is.

dean


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## bugstabber (May 12, 2002)

Glad you're okay. This is the second year we've had a gas grill, I noticed it was harder to start last week and then the tank was empty.


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## Horselover (Mar 22, 2006)

I am glad you are both okay. 
Thanks for the good info. I had just about gotten over my fear of gas grills and then last year it seemed that I could not get the grill lit. I had to use an ignitator to get it lit and I did have the lid down. I noticed the fire also comes up too high on the food. This year I have not gotten it out. Now, I probably won't.


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## Melissa (Apr 15, 2002)

That must have been very scary, I am glad you are both OK. 

I also do not use gas grills for this reason. When I was a teen our coal furnace exploded on me, I had 3rd degree burns on my arm and singed my hair and ever since I am pretty scared around fire.


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## KCM (Sep 26, 2005)

Happy that you were not seriously hurt. 

I have two grills, one propane and one charcoal. I like both methods, but prefer the charcoal if time is of no consequence. It is much smaller than the gas grill, so don't use it for company very often. Usually use the gas grill when a lot of family comes over for picnic.

But be careful. If it doesn't light after the first handful of clicks, turn it off and check the spark location. Sometimes after moving the grill from place to place, or moving from storage, the ignitor can get moved to a location that is not close enough to the burner to light at the first hint of propane. It is far enough away that too much gas can build up before it ignites.

Always be sure to check the location of the ignitor spark whenever you move your grill, and adjust if necessary.


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## woodspirit (Aug 3, 2005)

This happens alot with gas grills that are stored outside or in a garage, which most are of course. The directions will tell you how to avoid this situation. While it happens all the time, it is never usually serious but it can cause a fire if it is in an enclosed porch or space. Spiders get in the venturi tubes and make a web across the span inside the tube and this prevents the gas from moving thru the tube and sometimes an explosion can occur if the gas ignites on the outside of the grill. Remove the burner from inside the grill and clean out the tubes with a brush...you can buy a brush specifically for this or use another type of tool. After you do that, spray some non-stick spray, like Pam, inside the venturi tubes and the spiders will not be able to get the webs to stick to the inside. This should be done every year at least once and more often if the conditions warrant.


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