Our friends at Property Casualty 360 offered up this interesting article on fires involving turkey fryers. Since Thanksgiving is just a little over a day away, we thought it would be appropriate to share it with our E. R. Munro and Company friends.
More cooking fires occur on Thanksgiving than any other day of the year. November is the number one month for grease and cooking-related fires. December is the second highest month.
Simple mistakes such as using too much oil and frying indoors can cause dangerous conditions for a grease fire to erupt, causing injuries and damage to property.
Here are the top 7 states for grease and cooking-related claims on Thanksgiving Day based on the number of claims made from 2005 to 2012:
7. Georgia – 16 fires – More than one-third of fires involving a fryer start in a garage or patio. Cook outdoors at a safe distance from any buildings or trees and keep the fryer off any wooden structures, such as a deck or patio.
6. South Carolina – 16 fires – Avoid a hot oil spill-over by first filling the pot with cold oil and then lower the thawed turkey into the pot to determine how much oil should be either added or removed.
5. New York – 22 fires – Shut off the fuel source or flame when adding the turkey to the hot oil to prevent a dangerous flare-up if oil does spill over the rim.
4. Ohio – 23 fires – Make sure your turkey is properly thawed before lowering it slowly into the pot.
3. Pennsylvania – 23 fires – Never leave a hot turkey fryer unattended.
2. Illinois – 27 fires – Do not use ice or water to cool down oil or extinguish an oil fire.
1. Texas – 28 fires – Keep an extinguisher approved for cooking or grease fires nearby.
