Easy To Follow Thanksgiving Day Fire Safety Tips

Practicing Thanksgiving Day Fire Safety can mean the difference between a great feast at your home, or your home and your feast going up in flames.

According to Lorraine Carli, NFPA’s vice president of Outreach and Advocacy, “A combination of factors collectively increase the risk of home cooking fires on Thanksgiving. She goes on to state that “People are often preparing multiple dishes with lots of guests and other distractions, which can make it all too easy to forget what’s on the stove. That’s when cooking mishaps are most likely to occur.”

While the number of cooking fires spikes on holidays, it’s also one of the leading causes of home fire year-round. Between 2009 and 2013, U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated average of 162,400 home cooking fires per year. These fires resulted in an annual average of 430 civilian fire deaths, 5,400 reported injuries and $1.1 billion in direct property damage.

With the number of potential fires that could occur on this day, we wanted to share some super easy tips for you to follow when making your Thanksgiving meal this year.

Top Thanksgiving Day Fire Safety Tips

• Stay in the kitchen if you are broiling, grilling or frying. If you have something that is simmering or baking, make certain to set timers to remind you to check on the food. If you are frying something and have to leave the kitchen, turn off the stove.

• Some of us have large kitchens and some of us have smaller ones….and for those of us who have smaller kitchens, with all the extra pots, pans and dishes we have out while preparing food, it is easy to be careless with oven mitts, utensils, food packaging, etc., and leave them to close to an open flame. Being mindful of where you place things in your kitchen is especially important on this day.

• Another great Thanksgiving Day Fire Safety tip is to think about what you will be wearing when you cook the meal…..Long billowy sleeves, peasant style dresses or other forms of loose clothing may look romantic and chic to wear while cooking; in reality they can catch on fire. When you are cooking the meal, make sure you are wearing close fitting clothes, especially when it comes to sleeves on your top or shirt.

• If you have a small (grease) cooking fire on the stovetop and decide to fight the fire: Smother the flames by sliding a lid over the pan and turning off the burner. Leave the pan covered until it is completely cooled. For an oven fire, turn off the heat and keep the door closed. For more information on grease fires, read our blog post here.

• Are you like me, and purchase one of those disposable aluminum pans to cook your turkey in? Have you found that sometimes they don’t work quite like you thought and they puncture, causing turkey juice to start dripping in your oven? This year, buy two pans and double them up, this way no juice will spill in the oven, because dripping turkey juices can (and have) cause oven fires.

• If you are taking medication that makes you drowsy, or if you stayed up too late prepping for the meal, of if you just got started a wee bit early on celebrating the meal, don’t use the stovetop or oven until you are fully alert.

• Keep children and pets away from the stove while cooking. We know that this is a day of family togetherness, and children may want to spend time with you in the kitchen, but today is the one day that you might want to make the kitchen an “adult only zone”. If children do come into the kitchen, make certain they maintain a distance of 3 feet from the stove at all times.

• Never leave the home for any reason while the oven is on; even if you think you have several hours before the turkey is done and you can run out for that missing ingredient, DON’T DO IT. Turkey juice can drip down from the pan, causing an oven fire and you won’t be there to stop it from spreading.

• Make sure your smoke detectors are working properly.

• Did you purchase a kitchen fire extinguisher? If not, now is the time to purchase one and keep it close to the kitchen. This is one of those items you always want to have on hand, but hope you will never need to use. When it comes to purchasing a fire extinguisher make sure you are purchasing the appropriate one….not all of them are equipped to put out grease fires.

• Be aware of dangling cords in the kitchen….again I don’t know about your kitchen but mine is a bit cramped, which means on occasion I have many appliances that are being used in a small work area, with cords all over the place. Make certain that these cords don’t become tripping hazards for you, or others.

In the Event Of A Fire

Get out of the house…..this is not the time to be a hero! Simply just get out! When you leave the home, close the door behind you to help contain the fire.

Call 911 AFTER you leave the home.

If the oven is on fire, turn off the heat and keep the door to the oven closed.

If this is a grease fire, DO NOT THROW WATER ON IT. It will only make the fire worse. Use a fire extinguisher that is appropriate for grease fires, baking soda, salt or a tight fitting lid on the pot that is on fire. Always keep a lid, as well as a box of baking soda nearby so that in the event of a grease fire you aren’t scrambling looking for these items.

Following these Thanksgiving Day Fire Safety Tips will go a long way to ensuring that your Thanksgiving is full of only great memories and good food. From our Emergency Fire & Water Restoration family to yours, we wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving.