Fire Prevention and Safety Tips Series: Thanksgiving Safety

6 min readNov 21, 2019

Safety Tips and Reminders from the Redwood City and San Carlos Fire Departments

Safety in the kitchen is important, especially around Thanksgiving when there are more people at home and activity is centered in the kitchen.

It’s easy to get distracted and forget about fire safety during this joyous, yet hectic holiday season. As you start planning your holiday schedule and organizing that large family feast, remember these simple safety tips so you can enjoy time with your loved ones and keep yourself and your family safe from fire and injury.

Stay in the kitchen when you are cooking on the stove top so you can keep an eye on the food. A hot cooking surface can be hazardous. Steam or splash from hot foods and liquids can cause serious burns. Keep children at least three feet away from a hot stove. Keep anything that can catch fire away from your stove top, including oven mitts, wooden utensils, food packing materials, towels, curtains, and long sleeves. While your turkey is cooking, be sure to check on it frequently. Do not leave your home with a turkey in the oven.

Maintain a clear space around the stove to prevent accidents. Keep the floor clear so you don’t trip over anything. Always make sure that knives are out of the reach of children and that electrical cords are not dangling off the counter within easy reach of a child. Keep matches and utility lighters out of the reach of children — up high in a locked cabinet — and never leave children alone in a room with a hot stove or a lit candle.

Before you start your Thanksgiving cooking and get distracted by the hordes of people in your house, make sure your smoke alarms are working. Check them by pushing the test button.

If you have a small cooking fire and decide to fight the fire yourself, smother the flames by sliding a lid over the pan and turning off the burner. Leave the pan covered until it is completely cooled. If there is an oven fire, turn off the heat and keep the oven door closed.

If you have any doubt about fighting a small fire, don’t hesitate. Just get out! When you leave, close the door behind you to help contain the fire. Call 9–1–1 from outside your home.

Thanksgiving is the leading day of the year for home fires involving cooking equipment. Many of these fires involve turkey fryers.

Deep frying a turkey has become a Thanksgiving tradition for many who appreciate the speed of cooking the turkey and the delicious result. However, turkey fryers have the potential to cause fire and serious injury. If you plan to deep fry your holiday bird, be sure you know how to use the fryer safely, and take these precautions to protect yourself, your guests, and your home:

· Keep outdoor fryers off decks, out of garages, and at a safe distance from trees and other structures. Propane-fire turkey fryers MUST be used outdoors. Place the fryer on a level surface and avoid moving it once it’s in use. Watch the weather. If rain or snow hits the hot cooking oil, oil may splatter or turn to steam, which can burn someone standing nearby.
· Make sure the turkey is completely thawed and completely dry before cooking it. A partially thawed turkey will cause the oil to splatter; contact between hot oil and skin can result in serious burns.

· Never leave your turkey fryer unattended. If possible, purchase a fryer that has temperature controls, and monitor the oil temperature carefully. While deep frying, cooking oil is heated to temperatures of 350 degrees Fahrenheit or more, and is combustible. If oil is heated above its cooking temperature, its vapors can ignite. If you notice the oil is smoking, turn the fryer off.
· Prior to lowering the turkey into the fryer, turn off the burner. Once the turkey is submerged, turn the burner back on. Wear goggles to shield your eyes, use oven mitts to protect your hands and arms, and keep a grease-rated fire extinguisher close by. Do NOT use water or a garden hose on a fire related to a turkey fryer.

· Skip the stuffing when frying a turkey, and avoid water-based marinades. Keep children and pets away from the fryer at all times. Once finished, carefully remove the pot from the burner, place it on a level surface, and cover it to let the oil cool overnight before disposing of it. Even better, opt for an oil-less fryer. These use infrared heat, rather than oil, to cook the turkey.

Fires and burns are the #5 cause of injury-related death to children in the United States.

Teach children that hot things can burn. Place hot liquids and food in the center of a table or toward the back of a counter. Have a “kid-free zone” of at least three feet around the stove and other areas where hot food or drink is prepared, carried, or served. Never hold a child while you are cooking, drinking a hot liquid, or carrying hot foods or liquids. Keep pot handles turned inward toward the stove and keep clothing from coming into contact with flames or heating elements. When opening microwaved food, do so slowly and away from the face.

Install anti-scald devices on tub faucets and shower heads, and always supervise a child in or near a bathtub. Bath water should always be less than 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius). Test the water by moving your hand, wrist, and forearm through the water; it should feel warm, not hot, to the touch.

If you do get burned, treat it right away. Put the burn are under cool running water for up to 20 minutes, then cover it with sterile material to protect from infection. Use a clean, dry dressing or plastic cling film wrap to cover the burn. For deep or extensive burns of any size, go to the hospital immediately.