Turkeys can catch on fire really quickly.
That was the main takeaway from a demonstration held by the Raleigh Fire Department just a week before Thanksgiving. RFD’s Fire Prevention Coordinator Lt. Lemuel Hubbard turned the heat up on a deep fryer outside the department's training facility to ensure the oil in the fryer was way too hot. Then some firefighters in full uniform dropped the turkey into a fryer. And then it erupted.
"It can be inherently dangerous if you use a turkey fryer at your house this Thanksgiving season. The danger comes when the oil gets too hot," he said. "When you get a flame like that in your home, your whole deck is going to be on fire, and you're going to be calling us to come help you out because your Thanksgiving dinner has turned into a Thanksgiving nightmare.
To ensure safety while cooking Thanksgiving dinner, make sure to:
- Stay in the kitchen while you cook.
- Check the temperature of your oil before you fry anything.
- Keep an oven mitt and a baking sheet nearby in order to smother potential fires.
