Before Thanksgiving gobblers can stuff themselves full of turkey, they’ll first need to avoid setting the house on fire.
More cooking fires occur on Thanksgiving than any other day of the year, according to State Farm Insurance.
Grease and cooking-related claims more than double on Thanksgiving Day, compared to an average day in November.
Cooking is the leading cause of residential structure fires on Thanksgiving Day, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Food left unattended is the leading factor causing these fires. As with cooking fires in general, the preponderance (83 percent) of Thanksgiving Day residential structure fires are the result of incidents involving stoves and ovens.
With the popularity of turkey frying, people are at risk for fryer related fires and injuries. State Farm reports that U.S. fire departments are responding to more than 1,000 fires each year in which a deep fryer is involved.
The National Fire Protection Association says deep fryer fires result in more than $15 million in property damage each year and hot oil splatter can cause serious burns to an adult or life threatening injuries to a child. Underwriters Laboratories considers turkey fryers to be so dangerous it refuses to certify them.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the majority of reported incidents occurred while the oil was being heated, prior to adding the turkey. For this reason, it warns consumers to monitor the temperature of the oil closely. If any smoke at all is noticed coming from a heating pot of oil, the burner should be turned off immediately because the oil is overheated.
There is also a risk of injury resulting from splashing due to the cooking of partially frozen meats. The CPSC says ALL meats should be thoroughly thawed and dried before cooking in hot oil. One reported burn incident occurred when partially frozen chicken wings were added to hot oil in a turkey fryer.
In 2011, State Farm teamed up with actgor William Shatner to produce a short video dramatizing an actual accident where the celebrity was burned in a turkey fryer mishap on Thanksgiving. The docudrama, “Eat, Fry, Love: A Cautionary Tale,” warns people about the dangers of improper turkey frying.
State Farm estimates that as a result of the video and safety campaign last year, grease and cooking related fire claims occurring on Thanksgiving Day were carved in half and the daily average for the entire month reached a seven year low.
“I love to fry turkey and have been doing it for years but I am not immune to frying accidents,” Shatner said in a statement. “People need to remember that hot oil and turkey can be a dangerous combination.”
To get the safety message out in 2012, State Farm worked with John Boswell, aka melodysheep on YouTube, to auto-tune the Shatner turkey fryer video. Called “Eat, Fry, Love: A Cautionary Remix”, Boswell injected the perfect blend of creativity and repetition to create a Thanksgiving safety anthem sure to have families clamoring for a moister, tastier and turkey.
Most turkey fryer fires are preventable. Recognizing common mistakes is a critical step in reducing the risk of a fire or potentially fatal burns.
State Farm offers the following safety tips when deep frying a turkey:
• More than one-third of fires involving a fryer start in a garage or patio. Cook outdoors at a safe distance from any buildings or trees and keep the fryer off any wooden structures, such as a deck or patio.
• Avoid a hot oil spill over by first filling the pot with cold oil and then lower the thawed turkey into the pot to determine how much oil should be either added or removed.
• Shut off the fuel source or flame when adding the turkey to the hot oil to prevent a dangerous flare-up if oil does spill over the rim.
• Make sure your turkey is properly thawed before lowering it slowly into the pot.
• Never leave a hot turkey fryer unattended.
• Do not use ice or water to cool down oil or extinguish an oil fire.
• Keep an extinguisher approved for cooking or grease fire nearby.
