There are some safety tips that you should know about before you deep fry that Thanksgiving turkey. It could be the difference between a happy Thanksgiving and a trip to the emergency room. Here is some advice to help you prevent having to file a health insurance claim, or a homeowners insurance claim, on Thanksgiving day.
Stacey Fleming is the public information officer with the FWFD (Fort Wayne Fire Department) in Indiana. She says:
“Fires are three times more likely to occur on Thanksgiving and around Thanksgiving more than any other time of the year, so inevitably we probably will respond to something. But just simple safety precautions and common sense, we can avoid this.”
Last year, State Farm Insurance created a video that featured William Shatner. It was called “Eat, Fry, Love” and it showed what can happen if you don’t use a turkey fryer correctly. The video was designed to be amusing. However, there is nothing funny about a house fire or a family member who gets severely burned from a turkey fryer.
Here is some common sense advice to use to help prevent tragedy from occurring. Following these safety tips can help you avoid the need to file a homeowners insurance claim, or a health insurance claim, on a holiday weekend.
Keep children and pets away from the turkey fryer. Create a circular boundary around the fryer that is farther than the range the oil can splash.
Make sure that the turkey is fully thawed out before you drop it into the fryer. Bad things happen when a solid, frozen, object is dropped into boiling oil! Plan ahead and make sure that your turkey has had plenty of time to thaw out.
Don’t overfill the fryer with oil. There is a simple way to test out how much oil you will need. Put the turkey into the empty fryer. Fill the fryer with water to about one inch above the turkey. Make a mark on the fryer so you will remember that point. That is the amount of oil you will need.
Don’t put the turkey fryer on an uneven surface. Find a flat, stable, spot to place it. Don’t put newspaper under the fryer. Hot oil that drips onto newspaper could catch fire.
While you are at it, make sure that the spot you choose to put the turkey fryer on is outside. People are tempted to put it in their garage. This is a bad idea! If a fire starts, your garage could catch fire, and that fire could easily spread to your house.
Image by Ben Brown on Flickr