TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — With the Thanksgiving holiday coming up this week, many are making plans to cook their turkey to delicious perfection.
But in the excitement, its important to remember that there are safety precautions to keep in mind. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, “Cooking is the main cause of home fires any time of the year but it is especially common on Thanksgiving. The average number of home fires in residential buildings on this day is often double the number of home fires throughout the rest of the year.”
Often many of those fires can be due to home-cooks attempting to deep fry a turkey.
Honey Creek Fire Department Public Information Officer Josh Sittler said the key is smart preparation.
“The biggest thing you need to remember is to do it outside, away from the house. Also make sure the turkey is thawed out and you don’t overfill the container,” Sittler said.
FEMA offers the following safety tips to prevent fires born out of cooking incidents;
- Stand by your pan. If you leave your kitchen, turn the burner off.
- Keep an eye on what you fry! Most cooking fires start when frying food.
- Roll up your sleeves. This reduces the chance that they’ll catch fire.
- Supervise children and pets. Make sure they stay away from the stove.
- Watch what you’re cooking! If you see any smoke, or grease starts to boil, turn the burner off.
- If there’s an oven fire, keep the door closed. Turn off the oven and keep the door closed until it’s cool.
- Move things that can burn away from the stove. This includes dishtowels, bags, boxes, paper and curtains.
- Turn pot handles toward the back of the stove. This is so no one can bump them or pull them over.
- Only use a turkey fryer outdoors. Make sure that it the fryer is on a sturdy surface, away from things that can burn.
- Check smoke alarms. Make sure to have working smoke alarms close to where anyone may be sleeping.
