Never add lighter fluid to lit coals.

No, don’t do that.

The biggest risk is a fireball. Lighter fluid vapors ignite instantly when they hit open flame or hot coals. You’re basically throwing gasoline on a fire — except it’s even more volatile because the fluid has been sitting in a can and the coals are already hot. That’s a great way to burn off your eyebrows or worse.

Even if you somehow avoid the flare-up, you’re also dousing the coals with chemicals that will vaporize and then condense onto your food. That “lighter fluid taste” everyone hates? That’s how you get it. The coals are already burning, so the fluid doesn’t have time to burn off cleanly. It just smokes and taints everything.

If your fire is dying, add more dry charcoal with a chimney starter or just use a bit more kindling underneath. Or accept that you need to start over. Lighting charcoal is cheap; an ER visit is not.

Future you will thank you for not being the person who sets the backyard on fire.