Red Cross Offers Thanksgiving Safety Tips

The American Red Cross Bay Area is offering tips for how to stay safe on Thanksgiving, when the chance of a home cooking fire spikes dramatically.

Don't leave the kitchen while you're cooking, the Red Cross warns. Unattended cooking is the number one cause of Thanksgiving Day home fires, according to the National Fire Protection Association.

It's also important to keep anything that can catch fire easily, including potholders, wooden utensils, food wrappers, towels and curtains, away from the stovetop. Roll up your sleeves or wear short sleeves, and make sure you're alert and haven't consumed alcohol or medicine that makes you drowsy.

Check simmering, baking, roasting or boiling food regularly and use a timer to remind yourself of the food.

Turn the handles of pots and pans inward to avoid accidents, and keep children and pets away from the cooking area.

The Red Cross also urges you to ensure smoke detectors are working, and at the end of the night check that all candles and smoking materials have been extinguished.

And with all the food on the Thanksgiving dinner table, the Red Cross wants to make sure you know what to do in the event someone chokes while eating or gets burned while cooking.

The Red Cross explains what to do in case someone begins choking:

"If someone begins to choke, ask the person if they are OK and if you can help. If coughing, encourage him or her to continue coughing. If they can't cough, speak or breathe, have someone call 9-1-1 or your local emergency number.

Meanwhile, position yourself slightly behind the person, lean the person forward and give five sharp back blows between the shoulder blades with the heel of your hand. If the obstruction isn't dislodged, stand behind the person, wrap your arms around his or her waist and give five quick, upward thrusts into the abdomen (just above the navel). Repeat back blows and abdominal thrusts as necessary.

If you are alone, you can perform abdominal thrusts on yourself, just as you would on someone else. Thrusts can also be administered by leaning over and pressing your abdomen firmly against an object such as the back of a chair, a railing or the kitchen sink."

If someone suffers a minor burn, cool the affected area by running it under cold water until the heat eases, then loosely cover the burned area with sterile dressing. Critical burns should be treated by medical professionals.