Don’t get fancy with lighter fluid. Use newspaper and a long lighter.

Yes, the safest method is newspaper and a long-reach lighter or match.

Lighter fluid is where people get burned (literally). It can pool, flash, and send a fireball up your arm. The chimney starter was literally designed to avoid that. Just crumple a few sheets of newspaper (or a natural fire starter), set the chimney on top of the paper, fill with charcoal, and light the paper from below. That’s it.

Electric starters are safe too, but they require an outlet nearby and a cord that doesn’t trip you. They work fine—but for most people, newspaper is simpler and just as safe.

The real risk with any chimney is the handle heating up and the thing being top-heavy. Set it on a non-flammable surface (concrete, dirt, not your deck boards). And don’t move the chimney until the coals are fully lit and ashed over. Grabbing a hot chimney with cheap grill gloves is how you drop it.

Patience beats speed every time here.