Safety The Key When Using Turkey Fryers This Thanksgiving

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, Thanksgiving is the leading day of the year for home fires involving cooking equipment, with three times the average number.

One of the more dangerous items is a turkey deep fryer. Cookeville Fire Chief Daryl Blair said it’s important to use those in a proper manner so you don’t have a holiday house fire.

“You want to be outdoors and never indoors,” Blair said. “If it gets to raining or snowing this time of year, sometimes people will bring them into the garage or the basement. That’s very dangerous and a no-no. Your want to keep them outside.”

Blair said to make sure turkey fryers are away from other structures and on a flat surface and to never overfill the fryer with oil.

Last year in the Volunteer state 18-percent of reported home structure fires involved cooking equipment.