Fire Pit Safety: Where to Put a Garden Fire Pit and How to Use It
Fire pit safety comes down to three things: standing the fire pit on a non-flammable surface away from anything that can catch, never leaving the fire unattended, and letting it cool fully before you move it. Get those right and a fire pit is one of the best ways to stretch an evening in the garden into autumn. This guide covers siting, lighting, putting it out and looking after a steel fire pit afterwards.
Choosing the right surface
A fire pit's base gets very hot, and embers and ash can fall around it. Always stand it on a non-flammable surface:
Good: paving slabs, a bed of gravel, concrete, brick or a purpose-made stone hearth area.
Never: timber decking, composite decking, grass, bark chippings or artificial turf.
Heat, ash and rust can mark paving under a steel fire pit. If you don't want your patio discoloured, stand the fire pit on a spare slab or on a gravel area set aside for it.
Where to put your fire pit
Keep well clear of fences, sheds, summerhouses, hedges, garden furniture and the house.
Look up. Don't put a fire pit under overhanging branches, a pergola, a gazebo, a parasol or an awning.
Stay level. Choose flat, stable ground so the fire pit can't tip.
Think about smoke. Check which way the wind usually blows and keep smoke away from open windows, washing lines and the neighbours.
Leave space around it so people can sit comfortably without being too close, and so nobody has to step over the fire to get past.
What to burn
Burn dry, seasoned firewood or kiln-dried logs. Wet or green wood smokes heavily and burns poorly.
Use natural firelighters and kindling to start the fire.
Never use petrol, lighter fluid, paraffin or other accelerants to light or revive a fire.
Don't burn household rubbish, treated or painted timber, plastics or garden waste that's still green.
Keep the fire a manageable size. It should sit comfortably within the fire pit, not pile above it.
While the fire is lit
Never leave a fire unattended, even for a moment.
Keep children and pets well back, and make sure they know the steel stays hot long after the flames die down.
Keep a bucket of water, a hose or a bucket of sand close by.
Use heatproof gloves and long-handled tools to add logs or move embers.
Don't light a fire in strong wind, and put it out if the wind picks up and starts carrying sparks.
Be considerate of neighbours. Avoid lighting up when they have washing out or windows open.
Putting it out and cooling down
Let the fire burn down to ash. If you need to put it out sooner, spread the embers and douse them with water or smother them with sand. Let the fire pit cool fully before you move, cover or dismantle it. Steel holds heat for a long time. Once everything is completely cold, empty the ash into a metal container. Wet ash left sitting in the base speeds up rust.
Slot-together fire pits: no tools, no welding
Our slot-together fire pits are plasma-cut from 4 mm mild steel and go together by hand. Four identical side panels interlock at the corners, and the base plate tabs lock through the side slots to hold everything square. Once cold, they come apart again for storage over winter. The standard size is 500 mm wide and 420 mm high, with a Large 650 mm version. An optional grill grate lets you cook over the embers.
The Fellside Slot-Together Fire Pit shows layered fell ridges and pines that glow once the fire is lit.
The Starfall Slot-Together Fire Pit has a starry sky, crescent moon and pine treeline, so firelight glows through every star after dark.
The Personalised Family Name Fire Pit has your name, up to 12 characters, cut into the front panel.
For cooking, the Ember Flat-Pack BBQ & Fire Basket Stand cross-slots into an X, with a round grate on four top tabs. For a small tabletop fire bowl or lantern, the Tidewater Tabletop Fire Bowl Windbreak slots into a square screen. The same surface rules apply to both.
Finishes and weathering
Our fire items come in raw steel or high-heat black. Raw steel will rust outdoors to an orange-brown patina, and the heat of the fire will darken and colour the steel as well. High-heat black is a high-temperature paint, and where the flames are hottest it will dull and wear with use, after which the steel beneath will start to rust. That's all normal for a working fire pit. Rust can stain pale paving, which is another good reason to use a spare slab or gravel. See our care and finishes page.
Storing your fire pit
When it's cold and empty, store the fire pit somewhere dry or under cover during long spells of non-use. A slot-together design can be taken apart and stored flat in a shed or garage.
Safety checklist
Non-flammable surface: paving or gravel, never decking or grass.
Clear of fences, sheds, branches and furniture.
Dry wood only, no accelerants.
Water or sand to hand.
Never leave a fire unattended.
Let it cool fully before moving.
Every fire pit is made to order in our Knowsley workshop, and we'll confirm your dispatch date by email. See the full range in the Metalwork shop.