North Charleston FD Provides Thanksgiving and Cooking Safety Tips

The following safety information was provided by the North Charleston Fire Department:

From stuffing to brining to leftovers, everyone has a favorite Thanksgiving turkey menu. As you plan  your holiday meal, follow these tips from the North Charleston Fire Department. They  will help you keep your Thanksgiving dinner delicious and safe.

Cooking is the biggest cause of home fires and fire injuries, and Thanksgiving is the  peak day for home cooking fires. So there’s no better time to focus on safety.“No matter  how many years you’ve been cooking, or how many Thanksgiving feasts you’ve served,  you still need to make safety your main ingredient,” says Laura Kondor, Fire and Life  Safety Educator. Start with these prevention tips:

• • Make your cooking area safe. Move things that can burn away from the stove. Turn pot handles toward the back so that they can’t be bumped.
  • Watch what you’re cooking. Use a timer when roasting a turkey or baking pies.
  • Be prepared. Keep a large pan lid or baking sheet handy in case you need to smother a pan fire.
  • Stay awake and alert while you’re cooking. If you see smoke or the grease starts to boil in your pan, turn the burner off.
  • Prevent burns. Wear short sleeves when you cook, or roll them up. Don’t lean over the burner. Use potholders and oven mitts to handle hot cookware.

A Note About Frying Turkeys 

Deep-frying turkeys has become popular in recent years. This cooking method has a lot  of risks. Turkey fryers get hot all over, so they need to be handled with great care and  only by an adult. They can tip over, spilling hot cooking oil. Partially frozen turkeys  placed into hot fryers will cause the oil to splatter. If fryers are overfilled, the hot oil will  spill over the side when the turkey is added. Even a small amount of oil on a hot burner  can start a fire.

If you deep-fry a turkey, place the fryer outside on a flat surface that can’t burn, such as  cement. Place the fryer several feet from anything that can catch fire. Don’t let children  or pets come anywhere near it. An adult should watch the fryer while it cooks. Use a  fryer with thermostat controls. Without these controls, the oil can heat to the point of  catching fire. Thaw the turkey completely before cooking it so that ice crystals won’t  splatter the hot oil. Use potholders and oven mitts when handling the turkey.

There’s nothing more satisfying than cooking a good meal for the people we love. Make  safety a priority in your kitchen at Thanksgiving and all year long.

Remember… 

Smoke alarms save lives! Make sure you have working smoke alarms in your home.  Smoke alarms over 10 years old should be replaced. North Charleston Fire Department  can install free smoke alarms in your home. For additional fire safety information, follow  North Charleston Fire Department on the NorthCharleston.org website, Facebook,  Twitter, NextDoor, and Instagram.

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