Firefighters warn of deep-fried turkey dangers for Thanksgiving
MADISON COUNTY, Tenn. — Fire officials offer a warning before you fire up the stove or deep fryer to cook your Thanksgiving feast. House fires almost double during the holiday, and many are connected to cooking and those ever-popular turkey deep fryers. Fried turkey can taste great, but any misstep in cooking it can burn down a house, garage and not to mention seriously injure the cook. If the statistics aren’t enough for you, the Madison County Fire Department put on a fiery demonstration Wednesday to show the worse case scenario. “Turkey frying is very popular these days, and there is no better turkey than a fried turkey,” Madison County Fire Marshal Don Friddle said. “We just urge folks to do it carefully.” Their big tips to avoid disaster — don’t overfill the pot, and if you buy a frozen turkey, thaw it out. “That oil is going to come out over the top and onto the flame,” Friddle said. “Because of the temperature of the oil, it’s automatically going to ignite and combust.” It’s a scary situation that firefighters said happens all too often during the holidays. “Thanksgiving Day, believe it or not, a person has a 183 percent more chance to have a cooking fire than they do any other day of the year,” Friddle said. And that’s because officials said there’s a lot more distractions. “They start watching the ball games or watching the parade on TV,” Friddle said. “Then the next thing you know the food you’re preparing is on fire.” But if you do decide to be adventurous when cooking your meal, firefighters said to remember these tips so you don’t end up with a disaster. “Our goal is to spend Thanksgiving with our family and not at someone else’s house,” Friddle said. “So we really urge people to be careful this holiday season.” Some big tips to prevent a fire this Thanksgiving include: – Make sure there is at least two feet of space between the liquid propane tank and fryer burner. – Place the liquid propane gas tank and fryer so that any wind blows the heat of the fryer away from the gas tank. – Completely thaw and dry the turkey before cooking. – Never use a turkey fryer in, on or under a garage, breezeway, porch or any structure that can catch fire. – Raise and lower food slowly to reduce splatter and avoid burns. – Cover bare skin when adding or removing food. – If oil begins to smoke, immediately turn off the gas supply. – If a fire occurs, call 911.
