As families and friends gather again to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, many will be preparing meals on a variety of cooking devices. The Hartsville Fire Department would like to remind all those getting ready for festivities to use careful attention when cooking, especially with crowds and children present, as well as when using unfamiliar devices, to help everyone have a happy and safe Thanksgiving.
Fire departments around the nation respond to an average of 156,600 house fires every year which involve cooking equipment, according to the U.S. Fire Protection Association, and Thanksgiving stands as the peak day for such fires. Of all cooking-related fires, 67 percent began with the ignition of food or other cooking materials, with frying posing the greatest risk of any cooking method.
Consider the following safety tips useful for any method of cooking:
- Don’t leave anything you are cooking unattended. Stay in the home when cooking your turkey and check on it frequently.
- Keep children at least three feet away from a stove or anything else which is cooking. Make sure that kids also stay away from hot food and liquids, as steam or splash from vegetables or gravy can cause serious burns.
- Keep an all-purpose fire extinguisher nearby. Never use water to extinguish a grease fire. If the fire is manageable, use your all-purpose fire extinguisher. If the fire increases, immediately call 911.
- Keep matches and utility lighters out of the reach of children, such as up high in a locked cabinet. Never leave children alone in a room with a lit candle.
- Make sure all your smoke alarms are working. Test them by using the test button.
Turkey fryers provide a popular method of cooking your Thanksgiving turkey, but they come with safety concerns as well. The National Fire Protection Association discourages the use of outdoor gas-fueled turkey fryers which use hot oil. Consider the following if you use a turkey fryer:
- Hot oil can splash or spill during cooking, and cause serious injury if it contacts skin. Oil may hit the burner or flames, causing the entire unit to catch fire.• Oil in fryers is heated to temperatures of 350 degrees Fahrenheit or more. Cooking oil is combustible, and can ignite if heated above its cooking temperature.
- Turkeys need to be completely thawed before being placed in a fryer, as a partially thawed turkey can cause oil to splatter.
- Fryers use a large amount of oil, usually about five gallons. Cooking pots which are overfilled with oil may spill out of the unit when the turkey is placed inside. Considering the turkey’s size and weight, extreme caution must be taken when placing and removing the turkey, as dropping it can cause oil to splatter.
- Turkey fryers should always be used outdoors, away from buildings, decks and any flammable materials. Fryers should also be used on a flat surface to reduce accidental tipping.
- Never leave the fryer unattended. Never let children or pets near the fryer even if it is not in use. The oil inside the cooking pot can remain dangerously hot hours after use.
For safety questions on these or other topics, please call the Hartsville Fire Department at (843) 383-3000.