2020 Thanksgiving Fire Safety Tips

While holiday plans may look different this year, the importance of home fire safety remains the same. Thanksgiving is the most common day for home fires, and we encourage you to learn more about how to stay safe while you celebrate.

Top 10 safety tips

• Stay in the kitchen when you are cooking on the stove top so you can keep an eye on the food.
• Stay in the home when cooking your turkey, and check it frequently.
• Keep children away from the stove.
• Make sure kids stay away from hot food and liquids. The steam or splash from vegetables, gravy or coffee can cause serious burns.
• Keep knives out of the reach of children.
• Be sure electric cords from an electric knife, coffee maker, plate warmer or mixer are not dangling off the counter within easy reach of a child or to cause a tripping hazard.
• Keep matches and utility lighters out of the reach of children — up high in a locked cabinet.
• Never leave children alone in room with a lit candle.
• Make sure your smoke alarms are working. Test them by pushing the test button.
• Have a home escape plan. Be sure all people in the home know what to do in the event of a fire or emergency.

Thanksgiving fire facts

• Thanksgiving is the peak day for home cooking fires, followed by Christmas Day, the day before Thanksgiving, Easter, and Christmas Eve.
• In 2018, U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated 1,630 home cooking fires on Thanksgiving, the peak day for such fires.
• Unattended cooking was by far the leading contributing factor in cooking fires and fire deaths.
• Cooking caused almost half of all reported home fires and home fire injuries, and it is the second leading cause of home fire deaths in 2014-2018.

[fvplayer id=”3″]

Source: NFPA’s Home Cooking Fires and Home Structure Fires reports.