It's the first day of Spring here in the commonwealth and I can't wait until it's nice enough to pull out the grill and cook outside. I remember the time when I almost burned my garage down.

Most people ignore the following very important laws about outdoor grilling in MA

I remember it well, I had some friends over the house, the kids were in the play room, my wife was upstairs, and I was grilling some hot dogs and hamburgers for everyone just outside of the garage.

I had pulled the burgers and dogs off the grill, shut the lid to the grill, moved the grill back inside the garage and went inside to serve some food. What I didn't do was turn off the grill...

I was distracted for literally two minutes when I opened the door to the garage to find it filled with smoke as the grease trap had caught fire just below the grill. It certainly wasn't a huge fire, but it was enough for me to be like, "Oh, man, I got to get this thing out."

I almost burned my garage down...

Massachusetts State Law About Grilling

• Always grill outdoors.
• Grills must be 10 feet from the side of a building unless the manufacturer's instructions say it can be closer. Make sure grills are not underneath overhanging branches.
• Grills cannot be used on a porch, balcony or deck with a roof, overhang or wall (other than the exterior of the building).
• Grills can only be used on open first floor porches, decks or patios if there is an outdoor stairway to the ground, or the porch is at ground level.
• Grills cannot be used on fire escapes.
• Place grills away from the house and deck railings.
• Keep all matches, lighters and lighter fluid away from children.
• Keep children and pets three feet away from grills. Children should never play near grills or propane cylinders. -mass.gov

I see people around Massachusetts ignoring these outdoor grilling laws all the time. In fact, I wasn't even aware of some of the guidelines in place.