Most of us associate Thanksgiving Day as a holiday to spend time with family, watch football, and eat a ton of food! What most people don’t know, is that Thanksgiving is also the number one day of the year for home fires. According to the National Fire Protection Association, in 2016 there were 1,570 home cooking fires on Thanksgiving in the United States. That’s more than two and a half times more than the daily average. There are many steps homeowners can take to keep their kitchen, home, and guests safe while a meal is being prepared.
Safety Tips
- Test your smoke alarms prior to Thanksgiving; make sure all are in working order
- Have a working fire extinguisher in your kitchen or close by
- Stay in the kitchen when food is cooking; this allows you to notice a fire issue sooner rather than later
- Be watchful of what you set near your stove top. i.e. don’t set oven mitts, towels, or other flammable items close to an open flame
- Try to keep kids out of the kitchen. Kids try their best to be helpful, but they can cause dangerous accidents from lack of knowledge and experience
- If frying a turkey, keep the fryer away from the home. Don’t place in a garage or on a deck. Place it as far away from the house as possible
For additional Thanksgiving safety tips or fire safety tips please visit the website for the National Fire Protection Agency: www.nfpa.org.
We hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoy your time with your family and friends!