The National Fire Protection Association has identified Thanksgiving as the peak day for home cooking fires, followed by Christmas Day, and Christmas Eve. In 2017, U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated 1,600 home cooking fires on Thanksgiving Day. Unattended cooking was by far the leading contributing factor in cooking fires and fire deaths. Please be safe this holiday season and review the NFPA’s tips to avoid becoming a statistic in 2019.
See the FREAS SharePoint page under Safety for more information on this topic and a list of all the Weekly Safety Messages issued this past year.
Top-10 List:
- Stay in the kitchen when you are cooking on the stove top so you can keep an eye on the food.
- Stay in the home when cooking your turkey and check on it frequently.
- Keep children away from the stove. The stove will be hot, and the kids should stay 3-feet away.
- Make sure kids stay away from hot food and liquids. The steam or splash from vegetables, gravy or coffee could cause serious burns.
- Keep knives out of the reach of children.
- Be sure electric cords from an electric knife, coffee maker, plate warmer or mixer are not dangling off the counter within easy reach of a child.
- Keep matches and utility lighters out of the reach of children — up high in a locked cabinet.
- Never leave children alone in room with a lit candle.
- Keep the floor clear so you don’t trip over kids, toys, pocketbooks or bags.
- Make sure your smoke alarms are working. Test them before you start cooking.