Author: Mike Causey, Insurance Commissioner
Thanksgiving Day is right around the corner, just a little more than a week away. It’s an exciting time to gather with family and friends. We offer thanks for our bounty and for each other.
It’s one of my favorite holidays. During the holiday, as our kitchens will be busy preparing a feast, it’s important that we keep safety in mind as we celebrate.
According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Thanksgiving is the peak day for home cooking fires with more than three times the daily average for such incidents. Unattended cooking was by far the leading contributing factor in cooking fires and fire deaths.
Cooking causes more than half, or 52%, of all reported home fires and nearly two out of every five (36%) home fire injuries. It is a leading cause of home fire deaths (16%).
On Thanksgiving Day alone, an estimated 1,446 home cooking fires were reported to U.S. fire departments in 2023, reflecting 388% of the daily average. Eighty percent of structure fires occurring on Thanksgiving Day are due to cooking, and account for 40% of the civilian injuries sustained in structure fires occurring on Thanksgiving.
These statistics serve a purpose: to remind us to take reasonable precautions to make sure our holiday is joyous. Here are a few tips from the NFPA to help us stay safe:
- Stay in the kitchen when you are cooking on the stovetop so you can keep an eye on the food.
- Stay in the home when cooking your turkey and check on it frequently.
- Keep children away from the stove. The stove will be hot and kids should stay at least three feet away.
- Make sure kids stay away from hot food and liquids. The steam or a splash from vegetables, gravy or coffee could cause serious burns.
- Keep the floor clear so you don’t trip on kids, their toys, pocketbooks or bags.
- Keep knives out of 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.
- Keep matches and utility lighters out of the reach of children.
- Don’t leave children alone in a room with a lit candle.
Our children are depending on the adults in the room to make their holiday safe. It’s a responsibility we should take seriously and joyously.
I hope you have a safe and happy Thanksgiving Day.