Emergency Cooking and Carbon Monoxide Safety
A clear rule for outage cooking: no-cook food first, outdoor combustion second. Understand why camping stoves, barbecues and generators do not belong indoors.
FIRST ACTIONS
Start here. Then read the conditions and exceptions below.
- Do not use a barbecue or camping stove indoors or inside a tent.
- Do not run a generator in an enclosed space.
- Keep food that can be eaten cold so you do not depend on combustion cooking.
- If you safely boil water, a vacuum flask can reduce repeated fuel use.
- If you suspect carbon monoxide poisoning, get everyone into fresh air and seek medical advice promptly. Call 999 for emergency symptoms.
The safest emergency meal may be the one you do not cook
Power cuts create a temptation to improvise. A camping stove that is perfectly useful outdoors can become dangerous when moved into a kitchen, conservatory, garage or tent. The NHS warns that camping stoves and barbecues used indoors can cause carbon monoxide to build up.
That is why a preparedness food plan should start with food that can be eaten cold. Tins, pouches, crackers, nut butters and other familiar shelf-stable foods give you time to make safer decisions.
Carbon monoxide gives little warning
Carbon monoxide is produced by incomplete combustion and cannot be seen or smelled. Symptoms can resemble other illnesses. The NHS lists possible symptoms including headache, dizziness, nausea, weakness, tiredness, confusion and breathing problems.
If you suspect carbon monoxide exposure, stop using the suspected appliance if safe, get everyone into fresh air and seek medical advice promptly. Do not go back into the affected building until you have been advised it is safe. If someone exposed has trouble breathing, suddenly becomes confused, loses consciousness, feels weak, or has chest or muscle pain, call 999 or go to A&E; do not drive yourself. For suspected symptoms that are not immediately life-threatening, call the appropriate local urgent-health service, such as NHS 111 where available. This is a potentially serious exposure even when symptoms improve outdoors.
Outdoor cooking needs an outdoor plan
If you use a camping stove, use it in the environment the manufacturer specifies, away from enclosed or poorly ventilated spaces. Keep it stable and away from children, flammable materials and doorways where fumes can be drawn back into the house.
Do not treat a garage with the door cracked open as a safe kitchen. The simple house rule is easier to remember: appliances designed for outdoor combustion stay outdoors.
Use heat once
When you can boil water safely, an insulated flask can make that heat last. Boil what you need, fill the flask and use it for drinks or simple food preparation rather than repeatedly reheating small amounts.
This is not exciting equipment, but it is efficient and keeps fuel use predictable.
Keep alarms working
If your home has gas, oil, wood or other fuel-burning appliances, follow current guidance on carbon monoxide alarms and appliance servicing. A power cut is the wrong time to discover that an alarm battery is flat.
Useful kit for this plan
Equipment should support the plan, not replace it. The commercial catalogue is kept on a separate page.
Named products and Amazon UK affiliate links are kept on the dedicated KIT page so this guide remains editorial. Use the kit only after the plan identifies a genuine equipment gap.
Sources checked for this guide
We use public sources for the factual backbone and write the guide in our own words. Source pages can change, so the links below are the place to check current official advice.
Editorial review date: 13 October 2026. Next scheduled review: 10 February 2027. Follow current official instructions if they differ.