| Thanksgiving is next week. Did you know that cooking fires are the number one cause of home fires and home injuries? Here are a few facts and safety tips:
• Thanksgiving is the peak day for home cooking fires with more than three times the daily average for such incidents. Christmas Day and Christmas Eve ranked second and third, with both having nearly twice the daily average.
• Unattended cooking was by far the leading contributing factor in cooking fires and fire deaths.
• Cooking causes half (52%) of all reported home fires and nearly two of every five (36%) home fire injuries, and it is a leading cause of home fire deaths (16%).
• On Thanksgiving day alone, an estimated 1,446 home cooking fires were reported to U.S fire departments in 2023, reflecting 388 percent of the daily average.
• Structure fires occurring on Thanksgiving Day – 80% are due to cooking. And those cooking fires account for 40% of the civilian injuries sustained in structure fires that occurred on Thanksgiving. These are annual estimates for the period 2019 – 2023 (no civilian deaths had occurred in cooking fires on Thanksgiving for these years)
• 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 kids should stay three 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 by pushing the test button.
Additional information can be found at: https://www.nfpa.org/education-and-research/home-fire-safety/thanksgiving |
