It’s Thanksgiving and several individuals and families are enjoying being together, while also taking part in serving and eating food, and a fire while cooking could easily ruin the holiday. 

Jefferson Fire Chief Jack Williams advises if a turkey is going to be deep fried, to make sure to cook it outdoors and away from structures.

“We have usually one fire a year that’s someone deep frying a turkey in a garage or something and causes a fire.” 

Williams also suggests having enough water in a turkey deep fryer so that the container that is cooking the turkey doesn’t overflows with oil, which could then start a fire. Additionally, if a grease fire starts in the kitchen, Williams points out to use a thick blanket to snuff out the flames. He talks about why water should not be used for a grease fire, which may be an instinct that people tend to gravitate towards.

“Water and oil, especially when oil is on fire, react violently which spreads the oil fire even farther.”

Williams adds to always make sure there is a fire extinguisher nearby the kitchen to aid with putting out any fires, along with properly functioning smoke detectors.