In preparation for the holiday season, the Raleigh Fire Department teamed up with State Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey to demonstrate the dangers of frying turkeys. Commissioner Causey and firefighters hosted a live fire demonstration at RFD’s Keeter Training Center to show the dangers of frying a turkey that’s not fully thawed.
“Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to gather with family and friends for a delicious meal, but it’s easy to lose focus on fire safety,” said Causey. “Turkey frying can be dangerous because oil fires happen quickly. Make sure to plan for fire safety especially when cooking this holiday season.”
According to the National Fire Protection Association, Thanksgiving Day is the peak day for fires caused by cooking with about 1,000 home fires occurring on that day.
In addition, the fire department and Causey, who is also the State fire marshal, showed a live Christmas tree fire demonstration to reinforce home fire safety efforts. The demonstration showed just how quickly a dry Christmas tree can burn and spread flames throughout a room.
Safety Tips for Frying a Turkey
The Raleigh Fire Department and the Office of State Fire Marshal offer the following safety tips for frying turkeys:
- Use extreme caution when cooking with oil. Hot oil can spill or splash onto the flame, igniting a fire. Also, oil inside a turkey cooker pot can stay dangerously hot for hours after use.
- Don’t overheat the oil. Cooking oil, if heated beyond its cooking temperature (375 degrees), can ignite.
- Always operate turkey fryers outside. They should also not be used under a garage, deck, breezeway, porch, barn or any structure that can catch fire.
- Make sure the turkey has thawed completely before putting it in a turkey fryer. Frozen, or partially frozen turkeys, will cause hot oil to splatter or produce hot steam, which leads to burns.
- NEVER use water to extinguish a grease fire!