With Thanksgiving tomorrow, it’s no surprise that the holidays are officially here with all of the meal prepping and hanging of holiday lights and decorations. However, that also means this time of year is notorious for accidental fires. In fact, did you know Thanksgiving is the leading day of the year for home fires involving cooking equipment?
The kitchen is the heart of the home, especially during the holidays. Safety in the kitchen is important, especially on Thanksgiving Day when there is a lot of activity and people at home. Although we at LSS Life Safety Services® deal with the maintenance of fire barrier management systems in healthcare, educational, commercial, and industrial buildings, we are always supporters for fire safety in any kind of structure, including your homes.
The holidays are a special time to spend with your friends and family. Here are a few tips we would like to pass on to help keep you and your family safe this holiday season.
- 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.
- Make sure the cooking pot isn’t overfilled with oil to avoid spill out.
- Ensure your turkey is completely thawed out before placing it into the fryer.
- The turkey fryer should be placed outside and away from any flammable materials.
- Be careful not to touch the lid or handles without protection.
- Make sure the fryer is on a flat service; fryers can easily tip over.
- Make sure your smoke alarms are working. Test them by pushing the test button.
- Keep young children out of the kitchen with activities including games, puzzles or books to help keep them busy. If a kid wants to get involved in Thanksgiving preparations, have them help with recipes that can be done outside the kitchen.
For more information on cooking safety tips during the holidays, please visit NFPA’s website.
Happy Thanksgiving from your friends at LSS!
