Thanksgiving traditionally means family reunions and special holiday meals. Unfortunately, the holiday also is prime time for house fires.
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) states that there are three times as many home cooking fires on Thanksgiving as a typical day of the year. Most of those fires are caused by simple inattention — people leaving food cooking in the oven or on the stove unattended.
Therefore, if you’re going to be cooking a family feast this Thanksgiving, keep a watchful eye over what’s cooking, officials said.
“Thanksgiving is a festive but hectic holiday, where people are often preparing several dishes at once, while entertaining friends and family with lots of other potential distractions,” said Lorraine Carli, NFPA’s vice president of outreach and advocacy.
Snyder Fire Department (SFD) Deputy Fire Marshal Nathan Hines agrees.
“The number one cause of kitchen fires, especially at Thanksgiving, is unattended cooking, not being there with it,” Hines said. “If you’re cooking, you need to make sure you’re in the kitchen watching over everything.”
Hines also urged Thanksgiving chefs to keep their cooking areas clean of cooking oils and other flammable material.
If using a turkey fryer, Hines said to make sure the turkey is completely thawed before putting it in the fryer — a frozen turkey will cause the heated oil to spill out, increasing the fire threat dramatically.
Also, make sure that small children are out of the kitchen.
“Make sure kids are out of the kitchen when you’re cooking and make sure any pot and pan handles aren’t facing out where a child can pull them off the stove,” Hines said.
Thanksgiving is also a time when many families set up their Christmas decorations and Hines said they need to use caution with those, as well.
“Keep any candles away from decorations that are flammable,” he said. “And when you go to bed, make sure the candles are out and any Christmas lights are turned off.”
Another step families can take is to make sure everyone knows what to do in case of a fire.
“Establishing an escape route is always a good idea, but it’s not something a lot of people think about this time of year,” Hines said.
NFPA statistics show cooking is the leading cause of reported home fires year-round, accounting for nearly half of all home fires in the United States, as well as 21 percent of home fire deaths.
Other Thanksgiving cooking safety tips from the NFPA include:
• Use a timer to keep track of cooking times, most notably when simmering, baking or roasting foods that require longer cook times.
• Keep things that can catch fire, like oven mitts, wooden utensils, food wrappers and towels, away from the cooking area.
• Consider putting timers in different rooms so you can hear them over music and party chatter.
• Push up shirt sleeves and avoid wearing billowy clothing that may come into contact with open flames and other heat sources.
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