Public Health Agency (Northern Ireland)

Authority

Official guidance

Territories

GB, international

Primacy

primary

Commercial interest

none

Retrieved

2026-08-13

State

Read and citable

Original document

The source for the counterintuitive and life-critical point that a barbecue continues to produce carbon monoxide as it cools, so 'the fire is out' does not make it safe to bring inside. Carried as 'international' alongside GB because the underlying combustion chemistry does not vary by country, unlike the food rules.

Safety

• “Even a cooling barbecue gives off plenty of poisonous carbon monoxide”

  A barbecue continues to give off carbon monoxide as it cools, so a barbecue that is no longer flaming is still dangerous in an enclosed space.

  Why it happens:

  Incomplete combustion continues while fuel is still smouldering.

  Combustion chemistry, so it does not vary by jurisdiction — unlike the food rules.

• A barbecue should never be taken into a tent, awning, caravan or motorhome, including when it is only cooling.

  What it covers:

  Applies to charcoal and other combustion barbecues.

  Carbon monoxide is colourless and odourless, so there is no warning before symptoms.

• A barbecue continues to produce carbon monoxide as it cools. A barbecue that is no longer flaming is still lethal in an enclosed space.
• An electric outdoor cooker producing no carbon monoxide is not thereby safe for indoor use. SharkNinja restricts the Ninja Woodfire — an electrically heated outdoor grill — to outdoor household use only, and specifies a three-foot clearance to walls, rails and combustible construction. The absence of combustion removes one hazard and leaves fire risk, smoke and the manufacturer's own restriction untouched.

If this source changes, these are the claims that need rechecking. That is the point of recording provenance per claim rather than per page.