Thanksgiving Fire Safety

For most, the kitchen is the heart of the home, especially during the holidays. So keeping fire safety top of mind in the kitchen during this joyous but hectic time is important, especially when there’s a lot of activity and people at home. 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.

Thanksgiving Fires by the Numbers

• Thanksgiving is the peak day for home cooking fires, followed by Christmas Day and Christmas Eve.
• In 2015, U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated 1,760 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.

Five Dangers of Deep Frying a Turkey:

• Turkey fryers can easily tip over spilling hot oil across a large area.
• An overfilled cooking pot will cause oil to spill over when the turkey is placed inside.
• A partially frozen turkey will cause hot oil to splatter.
• Turkey fryers can easily overheat and start a fire.
• The pot, lid and handles of a turkey fryer can get dangerously hot and cause burn injuries.

Downloadable Resources

• Thanksgiving Day Fire Data Snapshot

Quick Tips to Share

Share these graphics with your family and friends this holiday season! We encourage you to print these and also share on social media.