WESTERLY – November 23, 2015 – The Dunn’s Corners Fire District (DCFD) is urging Westerly and Charlestown residents to take precautions during this thanksgiving holiday.

With the Thanksgiving holiday upon us you may or may not know Thanksgiving is the peak day for home cooking fires. The average number of home fires on Thanksgiving Day is normally double the average number of fires in homes all other days.

Chief Frink from the Dunn’s Corners Fire District has the following safety tips and social media resources that will help you from becoming one of these statists. This way everyone can have a happy and safe Thanksgiving.

• Stay in the kitchen when you are cooking - frying, broiling or boiling - at high temperatures.
• Make your cooking area safe. Move things that can burn away from the stove. Turn pot handles toward the back so they can’t be bumped.
• Watch what you’re cooking. Use a timer when roasting a turkey or baking.
• Be prepared. Keep a large pan lid or baking sheet handy in case you need to smother a pan fire.
• Stay awake and alert while you’re cooking. If you see smoke or the grease starts to boil in your pan, turn the burner off.
• Prevent burns. Wear short sleeves when you cook, or roll them up. Don’t lean over the burner. Use potholders and oven mitts to handle hot cookware.

Also a large number of residents are deep frying turkeys as opposed to cooking them in the oven. Statics show Frying food is the greatest risk of cooking fires. Reports show that Two-thirds (67 percent) of home cooking fires start when food or cooking materials catch on fire. More than half (55 percent) of home cooking fire injuries happen when people try to fight the fire themselves.

Please follow the following tips so you can enjoy your day this Thanksgiving:

• Turkey fryers can easily tip over, spilling hot cooking oil over a large area.
o Place all cooking units on a level non-combustible surface
o Locate fryers 30 feet away from structures, trees, or flammable materials.
• An overfilled cooking pot will cause cooking oil to spill when the turkey is put in, and a partially frozen turkey will cause cooking oil to splatter when put in the pot.
• Even a small amount of cooking oil spilling on a hot burner can cause a large fire.
• Without thermostat controls, deep fryers can overheat oil to the point of starting a fire.
• The sides of the cooking pot, lid and pot handles can get dangerously hot.

Also, See Chief Frink on the Rhode Show!