Preventing a Holiday Cooking Disaster

11/14/2023 (Permalink)

Did you know that Thanksgiving is the highest rated day for home cooking fires, followed by Christmas, and Christmas Eve? With more cooking comes more responsibility and we want you to enjoy these days with your family and friends! Here are a few safety tips for when you are cooking that delicious meal during the holidays.

• Keep an eye on the food while it is cooking. Avoid leaving the room so that the hot surfaces do not go unattended.
• Cook the turkey (or ham) while you are home to avoid. Leaving the house would leave the food unattended.
• Keep children away from the stove to prevent any accidents with the hot food, surfaces, or liquids. The stove will be hot and kids should stay 3 feet away. The steam or splash from vegetables, gravy or coffee could cause serious burns.
• Make sure there are no trip or fall hazards in the cooking area. This can include toys, children, or pets.
• Keep knives out of the reach of children.
• Be sure electric cords are not dangling off the counter within easy reach of a child. Appliances to watch could be an electric knife, coffee maker, plate warmer or mixer. 
• Keep matches and utility lighters up high in a locked cabinet out of the reach of children.
• Never leave children alone in room with a lit candle.
• Make sure your smoke alarms are working before you begin cooking. Test them by pushing the test button.

Be especially aware when Deep Frying a turkey, people tend to put too much oil in which causes overflow and spreads to the open flame causing a mass fireball. Also putting in a frozen or very wet bird can cause major problems which they call B.L.E.V.E. which stands for Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion.

• Always use fryer outside away from any structure. 
• Keep oil under 350 degrees, the hotter the oil, the more combustible it is.
• Be careful to not overfill the oil for the fryer to prevent overflow when cooking.
• Thoroughly defrost turkey. The rule of thumb is 24 hours for every 10 pounds the turkey weighs.
• Before adding the turkey to the oil, turn off the burner flame. This helps prevent an explosion if overflow does occur.
• Keep grease fire approved extinguisher on hand. Never use water on a grease or oil fire as it will spread the fire instead of extinguishing it!
• Lower turkey into pot slowly, and watch for overflow.

In the event you have a Fire/Water emergency this Holiday Season please know your SERVPRO of Coffee, Franklin, Warren County is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, even on Holidays. Contact us if need be at (931)723-8088 and we will be there to help. Happy Holidays!