Thanksgiving Safety Tips from the National Fire Prevention Association

For most, the kitchen is the heart of the home, especially during the holidays. From testing family recipes to decorating cakes and cookies, everyone enjoys being part of the preparations. So keeping fire safety at the top of your mind in the kitchen during this joyous but hectic time is important, especially when there’s a lot of activity and people at home. With more people at home than normal (the more the merrier!) it’s easy for things like your electrics to get overwhelmed. If you plan on having more than 10 people stay at your house for the festive season, consider upgrading your wiring by visiting barnettelectrical.com/residential-services/panel-upgrade/ or some site similar. Old electrical panels aren’t designed to cope with such a large workload and can easily overheat and catch fire, especially if everyone is charging their phone and drying their hair whilst the cooking is taking place.

As you start preparing your holiday schedule and organizing that large family feast, remember, by following a few simple safety tips you can enjoy time with your loved ones and keep yourself and your family safer from fire. Also, remember sometimes fires happen and we have no control over them, so ensure that all your smoke detectors are working so you can safely evacuate as well as having a look for the best home insurance Australia, North America, and a variety of other regions (wherever you are celebrating Thanksgiving this year!) so that if a fire does occur it does not completely devastate your household funds. If you are an unfortunate victim of fire damage, do follow the safe safety precaution methods and move to a safer location. Your home insurance can cover the Fire damage restoration works. Fire safety is a serious issue and it should not be taken lightly.

Thanksgiving by the numbers

• Thanksgiving is the peak day for home cooking fires, followed by Christmas Day and Christmas Eve.
• In 2014, nearly four times as many home cooking fires occur on Thanksgiving as on a typical day.
• In 2014, U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated 1,730 home cooking fires on Thanksgiving, the peak day for such fires.
• Unattended cooking was by far the leading contributing factor in cooking fires and fire deaths.
• Cooking equipment was involved in almost half (48%) of all reported home fires and civilian and tied with heating equipment for the second leading cause of home fire deaths.

Source: NFPA’s Fire Analysis & Research Division
NFPA joins CPSC to demonstrate the fire dangers of turkey fryers in this live burn. NFPA strongly discourages the use of turkey fryers.

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Safety tips

• Stay in the kitchen when you are cooking on the stovetop so you can keep an eye on the food.
• Stay in the home when cooking your turkey and check on it frequently.
• Keep children away from the stove. The stove will be hot and kids should stay 3 feet away.
• Make sure kids stay away from hot food and liquids. The steam or splash from vegetables, gravy or coffee could cause serious burns.
• Keep the floor clear so you don’t trip over kids, toys, pocketbooks or bags.
• Keep knives out of the reach of children.
• Be sure electric cords from an electric knife, coffee maker, plate warmer or mixer 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.
• Never leave children alone in room with a lit candle.
• Make sure your smoke alarms are working. Test them by pushing the test button.

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Thanksgiving is the leading day for home fires involving cooking equipment, with three times the average number. Download this cooking fire safety infographic