The Ohio State Fire Marshal Office says kitchen safety needs to be a priority during large cooking gatherings.
Thanksgiving continues to be the leading day for home cooking fires in the United States. In Ohio alone last year, fire departments responded to more than 350 fires during the week of Thanksgiving, including 66 that were related to cooking.
Fire Prevention Bureau Chief Anita Metheny says with family and friends celebrating in one space it can be easy for the cooks to get distracted.
“Keep a pan lid close by incase you do have a pan that catches fire you can cover that fire right away. The best prevention is to stay in the kitchen while you’re cooking. Don’t start something on the stove and then walk away cause there’s a high potential that that could catch fire.”
Other recommendations are to keep flammable materials, like paper towels and napkins, away from heat sources.
“Anything burnable that can be close to the stove keeps them at least 12 inches away so you don’t have to worry about anything catching fire.”
Metheny notes for anyone wanting to use a fryer, make sure that implement is outside on a flat surface away from structures.
“You cannot put a frozen turkey into a turkey fryer because that hot grease comes in contact with that water, it’s going to boil over and catch something on fire. That grease is going to catch on fire and it’s going to cause a really big hazard.”
The appropriate level of oil can be determined by first placing your turkey in the cold pot, then filling the pot with water until the water covers the top of the turkey. Once the turkey is removed, the remaining water level indicates how high to fill the pot with oil when it’s time to fry the turkey.
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