This hazard does not vary by country. The chemistry is the same everywhere, which is why these rules are marked as applying wherever you are cooking.
What the rules say
Spent coals can reignite for up to 24 hours
significantApplies everywhere · international · last verified 2026-08-20 · review due 2027-08-20
After a charcoal fire appears extinguished, unconsumed embers can retain heat for up to 24 hours and can burst into flame unexpectedly when fresh air reaches them. Embers outside the firebox can ignite combustible surfaces such as a wooden deck.
BBQHQ already carried the UK fire-authority instruction on how to dispose of coals. What it did not carry was HOW LONG the risk lasts, and 24 hours is a great deal longer than the interval most people assume from a barbecue that has gone cold to the touch on top. Filed under 'fuel' — the disposal and handling of charcoal — rather than under 'fire', which is jurisdiction-bound because fire regulations are national and this is a manufacturer's statement about the material rather than a fire authority's about a country. It sits alongside the UK fire-authority rule rather than replacing it.
Where this comes from
A charcoal fire that appears extinguished can retain heat in unconsumed embers for up to 24 hours and can flare again when fresh air reaches it, which is why spent fuel is a fire risk long after a cook has finished.
Well supported
Oklahoma Joe's (Char-Broil, LLC) — States this directly
“After a charcoal fire appears extinguished, unconsumed embers can retain heat for up to 24 hours, and if exposed to fresh air, can burst into flame unexpectedly.”
- The figure:
- Twenty-four hours is a longer interval than any other document in this catalogue gives for a dead-looking fire, and it is a manufacturer stating it about its own charcoal appliance.
About this source · Original · retrieved 2026-08-20
UK: never pour petrol, paraffin or meths on a barbecue
criticalApplies everywhere · GB · last verified 2026-08-21 · review due 2027-08-21
Never pour petrol, paraffin or methylated spirits onto a barbecue or a fire, lit or unlit. Use firelighters, or a chimney starter.
RoSPA names the three substances rather than saying 'accelerants', and the naming is the useful part — meths in particular is in a lot of sheds and burns with a flame that is hard to see in daylight. The alternative BBQHQ points at is a chimney starter, because the reason people reach for a bottle is that lighting charcoal with a match is slow, and a chimney is the answer to that problem rather than a rebuke for having it.
Where this comes from
Petrol, paraffin and methylated spirits should never be poured onto a barbecue or fire; firelighters are the intended alternative.
Well established
Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) — States this directly
“Never pour petrol, paraffin or meths onto the fire, use firelighters”
- The sentence the accessory layer needed. a chimney starter is the thing somebody reaches for instead of an accelerant, and a page recommending one should be able to say what it is instead OF from a source rather than from folklore. Weber describes the chimney and has a chimney to sell; RoSPA states the prohibition and sells nothing.
- Three substances, named. Recorded as named rather than generalised to 'accelerants', because the generalisation is BBQHQ's and the list is RoSPA's.
About this source · Original · retrieved 2026-08-21