A timber garden building full of fabrics, packaging and bottles of spirits, with heaters, fridges and festoon lights, has plenty of things that can burn and several things that can start a fire. Fire safety in a garden bar is mostly common sense applied consistently.
Keep heat sources apart from timber
- Follow heater instructions on clearances to walls, ceilings and furnishings exactly. See heating.
- Keep barbecues, pizza ovens, fire pits and chimineas well away from the bar, fences and overhanging trees.
- Never use a barbecue or fuel-burning heater inside the bar.
- Let ashes cool fully before disposal, in a metal container.
Electrics
Electrical faults and overloaded sockets are a common cause of fires. Avoid daisy-chained extension leads, check plugs and leads for heat damage and use a properly installed supply. See power to a garden bar. Switch off non-essential equipment when the bar is closed.
Smoking
If guests smoke, provide a proper ashtray away from the building, and empty it into a metal container once cold. Discarded smoking materials in dry planting or bark mulch can smoulder unseen.
Alarms
Fire safety guidance for homes stresses working smoke alarms. A smoke or heat alarm in a garden bar, ideally one you can hear from the house or that links to a phone, adds early warning. A heat alarm may suit a space where smoke from cooking or candles is likely. Add a carbon monoxide alarm if any fuel-burning appliance is used nearby.
Extinguishers and blankets
A fire blanket and a suitable extinguisher, kept by the door, can deal with a small fire. Read the instructions when you buy them, not during a fire. If a fire is growing, get out, stay out and call 999.
A clear way out
- Keep the door and route clear of crates, stools and kegs.
- Don't lock the door while people are inside.
- Make sure guests know the way out in the dark; light the route.
Distance from the house and boundaries
Fire can spread between buildings. In England, the Building Regulations guidance on outbuildings considers distance from boundaries and materials for this reason; see Building Regulations. Even when approval is not needed, keeping the bar away from the house and fences is sensible.
Candles
Use them in stable holders away from fabrics and decorations, or choose LED candles for the same glow without the risk.
Walk through the bar with a critical eye tonight: every heat source, every lead and every route out. Fix the first thing that worries you before the next party.
Sources
Primary guidance checked 10 November 2026.