Better Know How to Use A Fire Extinguisher If Deep Frying A Holiday Turkey
Firefighters would like to avoid any fryer fires over Thanksgiving.
I worked at Channel 3, NBC Las Vegas for many years. You knew the holidays were upon us when Las Vegas firefighters came by to fry turkey. It was to show the possible dangers when it comes to frying your holiday turkey.
Holiday Cooking Safety
Frying turkeys never seemed to be a thing until a couple decades ago, but it’s very popular now. And yes – it can also be extremely dangerous.
The National Fire Protection Agency says that Thanksgiving is a peak day for house fires in general, because of all the home cooking.
So here are few tips for staying safe on Thanksgiving:
1. Stay in the kitchen when cooking. That way you can keep an eye on things.
2. Just stay home when you’re cooking the turkey. And do check on it frequently. Don’t go to the neighbors for a three hour glass of wine.
3. There are a lot of hot foods, and hot liquids being cooked on Thanksgiving. Make sure kids keep their distance. Hot steam, and splashes, could cause serious injury.
4. Are your smoke alarms working? Make sure they are. Give them a poke, and make sure they give off that ear piercing shriek.
5. Turkey fryers use a lot of oil, and you cook at extremely high temperatures. This can cause devastating burns. If you didn’t know, there are fryers that don’t use oil.
Do You Know How To Use A Fire Extinguisher?
An old friend and roommate was a firefighter, so I learned how to use a fire extinguisher early on.
Remember this if you can: It’s called the PASS method: pull, aim, squeeze, sweep.
1. Pull: Pull the pin. This will also break the seal.
2. Aim: Aim low, at the base of the fire.
3. Squeeze: Squeeze the handle.
4. Sweep: Sweep from side to side at the base of the fire, as you spray.
There’s a lot going on at the house around the holidays, so always keep safety in mind.
And Happy Thanksgiving to all!
