Deep Frying a Turkey this Holiday Season? Follow These Simple Fryer Tips to Stay Safe

 

Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner; a time when family and friends come together to celebrate all it has to offer, especially a home cooked meal. But it’s also a time when home fires and home fire injuries occur due to cooking fires. During the winter holiday season, home cooking fires increase, with Thanksgiving as the peak day for these types of fires followed by Christmas and Christmas Eve, resulting in injuries, deaths, and millions of dollars in property damage.

One contributor to holiday fires is turkey frying, and although extremely popular especially during this time of the year, it’s a burn hazard for consumers. Since its inception, the food appliance industry continues to make great strides in the improvement of turkey fryers. However, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) warns consumers about the dangers involved when frying a turkey due to the amount of oil and high temperatures used during the cooking process. Even well informed and careful consumers are at risk when using a turkey fryer. NFPA discourages the use of outdoor gas-fueled turkey fryers unless used by properly trained professionals of grocery stores, specialty food retailers and restaurants who  use professional quality equipment.  However, if you prefer fried turkey consider using an “oil-less” turkey fryer.

Hazards and Precautions for Turkey Frying

• Hot oil can spill or splash over onto the flame igniting a fire. This can occur during the cooking process especially when placing the turkey in the fryer or when removing it.
• Fryers designed for outdoor use with or without a stand are prone to collapse causing a major hot oil spill.
• Cooking oil is combustible. If heated beyond its cooking temperature (375°), its vapors can ignite.
• Steam can result from hot cooking oil exposed to snow or rain causing a splattering of the hot oil leading to burns.
• The use of turkey fryers in close quarters poses a burn hazard/danger to children and others in the home due to oil, inside a pot, can stay dangerously hot for hours after use.
• DO NOT use in, on or, under a garage, deck, breezeway, porch, barn, or any structure that can catch fire.

• When cooked, frozen or partially frozen turkeys will cause the hot oil to splatter or produce hot steam leading to burns.
• Should a grease fire occur:
  • NEVER use water to extinguish it!
  • Get out and stay out! Once you’re safely out of the house, call 911.

Please click on the link to view the hazards of turkey frying https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvQ1HZGZrXI.

Additional Safety Tips

Chief Tom LaBelle, of the Prince William County Fire and Rescue System, would like to remind residents that the leading cause of kitchen fires is unattended cooking and urges the community to “Look When You Cook”!  Cooking fires are preventable by simply being more attentive when using cooking materials and equipment.

To keep you and your family safe during the holidays and every day, follow these simple safety tips:

“Look When You Cook”

• Stay in the kitchen while you are frying, boiling, grilling, or broiling food.
• Turn off the stovetop, if you leave the kitchen for even a short period of time.
• If you are simmering, baking, or roasting food, check it regularly, remain in the home while food is cooking, and use a timer to remind you that you are cooking.
• Keep anything that can catch fire away from your stove, i.e., oven mitts, wooden utensils, food packaging, towels, or curtains.
• Should a cooking fire or grease fire occur:
  • NEVER use water to extinguish a cooking fire!
    • If possible, cover the pot/pan with a lid and smother the fire.
    • Turn off the stovetop.
    • Leave the pan covered until it is completely cooled.
  • DO NOT attempt to fight the fire! Just Get Out!
    • When you leave, close the door behind you to help contain the fire.
    • Call 9-1-1 or the local emergency number AFTER you leave.
• For an oven fire:
  • Turn off the heat.
  • Keep the oven door closed.
  • If it’s a larger fire, Get Out, Close the door behind you and Call 9-1-1!
• For a microwave fire:
  • Turn it off immediately.
  • Keep the microwave door closed and wait until the fire suffocates.