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Fire danger at Thanksgiving
Source: Agencies |
November 25, 2010, Thursday
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THANKSGIVING is the traditional day in the United States for people to count their blessings, but for some it is also the day to set the house on fire.
There are more home fires in the US at Thanksgiving than any other day of the year, with fire departments responding to triple the normal number of incidents, according to the National Fire Protection Association.
Not surprisingly, most of these fires originate in the kitchen from clumsy or inattentive cooks.
"The reality is the doorbell rings and your friends and relatives are at the door and you want to greet them and chat, and you just don't think to go back to the kitchen," said John Drengenberg, consumer safety director for Underwriters Laboratories, which rates the safety of products such as appliances.
Thanksgiving dinner is a big project, with the turkey in the oven and all the burners in use for side dishes. There are many people hanging around in the kitchen, drinking, chatting and distracting the cook.
It is extremely easy to let the water boil over or the potatoes burn. Trying to put out the fire yourself can lead to injury and sometimes make the fire worse, experts said.
One way to remind yourself of the hazard is to carry around a hot pad or oven glove. Each time you look down you will be reminded of the food and the kitchen, Drengenberg told Reuters in a telephone interview.
The popularity of deep fried turkey has added to the fire hazards in recent years. Deep fried turkeys are boiled at searing temperatures in up to 5 gallons of hot oil. The practice is so hazardous for the uninitiated that not one turkey fryer has been certified as safe by Underwriters Laboratories, Drengenberg said.
While the fryers are made to operate at a temperature of around 176 degrees Celsius, they can soar to as high as 354 degrees - when the oil literally bursts into flame - if not watched carefully.
"If you are going to use a turkey fryer, do it outside as far away from the house as possible, don't overfill the fryer with oil and never put a partially?thawed turkey into the oil," Drengenberg said.
A good rule to follow when people are thawing a frozen turkey in the °?refrigerator is to allow a day for every 2.3 kilograms of meat.
This means the thawing process should start days ahead of the feast, experts said.
A partially frozen turkey plunged into hot oil can send up a sudden cloud of smoke and oil that could cause a terrible burn, Drengenberg said.
There are more home fires in the US at Thanksgiving than any other day of the year, with fire departments responding to triple the normal number of incidents, according to the National Fire Protection Association.
Not surprisingly, most of these fires originate in the kitchen from clumsy or inattentive cooks.
"The reality is the doorbell rings and your friends and relatives are at the door and you want to greet them and chat, and you just don't think to go back to the kitchen," said John Drengenberg, consumer safety director for Underwriters Laboratories, which rates the safety of products such as appliances.
Thanksgiving dinner is a big project, with the turkey in the oven and all the burners in use for side dishes. There are many people hanging around in the kitchen, drinking, chatting and distracting the cook.
It is extremely easy to let the water boil over or the potatoes burn. Trying to put out the fire yourself can lead to injury and sometimes make the fire worse, experts said.
One way to remind yourself of the hazard is to carry around a hot pad or oven glove. Each time you look down you will be reminded of the food and the kitchen, Drengenberg told Reuters in a telephone interview.
The popularity of deep fried turkey has added to the fire hazards in recent years. Deep fried turkeys are boiled at searing temperatures in up to 5 gallons of hot oil. The practice is so hazardous for the uninitiated that not one turkey fryer has been certified as safe by Underwriters Laboratories, Drengenberg said.
While the fryers are made to operate at a temperature of around 176 degrees Celsius, they can soar to as high as 354 degrees - when the oil literally bursts into flame - if not watched carefully.
"If you are going to use a turkey fryer, do it outside as far away from the house as possible, don't overfill the fryer with oil and never put a partially?thawed turkey into the oil," Drengenberg said.
A good rule to follow when people are thawing a frozen turkey in the °?refrigerator is to allow a day for every 2.3 kilograms of meat.
This means the thawing process should start days ahead of the feast, experts said.
A partially frozen turkey plunged into hot oil can send up a sudden cloud of smoke and oil that could cause a terrible burn, Drengenberg said.
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