Be careful how you cook that turkey! Thanksgiving is the day when the most cooking accidents occur. Many of these accidents happen due to the misuse of turkey fryers. Make sure that you are following the safety rules for fryers, so you won’t end up in the hospital on Thanksgiving.
Deep fried turkey is tasty. Millions of Americans agree with that statement, and use a turkey fryer to cook their turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. Unfortunately, not everyone is following the safety rules that go along with these types of deep fryers. This is part of the reason why Thanksgiving Day is the one day of the year that has the most cooking accidents. It is also entirely possible to become injured while using the stove in your kitchen to cook Thanksgiving dinner.
According to Dr. Thomas Esposito, chief of the Division of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care and Burns in the Department of Surgery, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, turkey fryers are the cause of $15 million in property damage every year in the United States. He also said:
“If a turkey fryer is used the way it’s supposed to be used by people who are not impaired by alcohol or drugs, I think they’re fine”.
This means that families that are using a turkey fryer this Thanksgiving need to be very mindful of safety rules. Fires started by the hot oil in a turkey fryer can spread very quickly.
Your homeowners insurance might cover some of the cost of repairing the damage that was done to your home if a fire like this happens. Your health insurance could possibly cover the cost of the ambulance ride to the ER, and the burn treatment that you, or a loved one, receives. However, it is best to do what you can to avoid the need for these types of insurance claims.
Here are some safety tips that should be followed when using a turkey fryer:
Keep all children and pets away from the turkey fryer. Young children and animals do not intrinsically understand what can happen if they run into the turkey fryer, or knock it over.
Make sure that someone is watching the fryer the entire time that it is on. It only takes a second for a fire to start, and begin to spread. Don’t just assume that another relative is watching over the fryer. Specifically assign this task to someone, or do it yourself.
Don’t use the turkey fryer inside your garage, or on your porch, or inside of your home. Those structures can easily catch fire if the hot oil from the turkey fryer splashes onto the floor. Only use the fryer outside, in an open area, that is away from walls, fences, and other structures.
When putting the turkey into the fryer, (or removing it from the fryer), go slowly. Use the correct tool to do this. Moving slow can help reduce the amount of hot oil that is splashed out of the fryer while the turkey is going into it, or coming out of it.
Image by Emilee Rader on Flickr