ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — According to the u-s fire administration, more than 4,000 fires happen each Thanksgiving Day, and they are almost always in the kitchen.
Thanksgiving is a day to spend time with family and think about what you are grateful for. But it is also the peak day for home cooking fires, with nearly four times as many fires occurring compared to a typical day. The American Red Cross says cooks should avoid wearing loose clothing or dangling sleeves.
Elizabeth Monforti, a Public Information Officer for the Palm Harbor Fire Rescue said, “a lot of the times its unattended cooking, pot on the stove, or mom steps away for a moment, dad steps away for a moment and gets distracted and a grease fire does start.”
Clean cooking surfaces regularly to prevent grease buildup, but if a grease fire does happen, do not pour water on it. Turn off the burner and smother the fire with a lid, douse with baking soda, or use a fire extinguisher. Keep anything that can catch fire, such as oven mitts, wooden utensils, plastic bags, and towels away from the stove. Make sure all of your smoke alarms are working, and keep children and pets away from the kitchen when cooking! So happy and safe turkey day!
Thanksgiving is one of the busiest times of the year for travelers, so if you’re going to someone else’s home, be prepared by checking the weather, being well rested before a drive, and cleaning your headlights, taillights, signal lights, and windows to help you see.
Contributors to this news report include: Hayley Hudson, Producer; Roque Correa, Videographer and Editor.
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