Fire Safety Tips for Thanksgiving

Information may not be reliable

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and with it comes all the cleaning and cooking preparations that need to be done. During Thanksgiving, the danger of starting a fire at home is most likely to be expected due to the fact that everyone is busy preparing food. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), cooking was the leading cause of reported residential fires from 2014 to 2018, and the peak days for home cooking fires were Thanksgiving and Christmas.

A fire can burn a residential house in no time and leave thousands of dollars worth of losses and property damage that need repairing and restoration by a professional fire damage restoration company, such as ServiceMaster by Wright. Homeowners must always ensure the safety of their family and property, so essential steps must be taken to protect the home from a fire incident this Thanksgiving. ServiceMaster by Wright discusses important fire safety tips to prevent residential fires in this article.

The following are the key findings of the NFPA research on Home Cooking Fires, published in July 2020:

• An average of 172, 900 reported home structure fires per year is caused by cooking, which resulted in an average of 550 civilian deaths (21 percent of all home fire deaths) and 4,820 civilian injuries (44 percent of all reported home fire injuries) annually. 
• The leading cause of cooking fires and casualties was unattended cooking.
• Cooking oil and grease fires are a major part of the cooking fire problem. 
• More than one-quarter of the people killed by cooking fires were asleep when they were fatally injured. More than half of the non-fatal injuries occurred when people tried to control the fire themselves. 

Tips to Prevent Home Fires this Thanksgiving

• Check fire and smoke alarms ahead of time. Smoke alarms and detectors are some of the devices that can actually save lives, as they provide ample time for evacuation in case of a fire. Install smoke alarms if there are none and have a fire extinguisher nearby. Replace batteries on old smoke alarms and test them once a month to ensure that they are in top shape. Alarms on every level of the home will be helpful, especially next to sleeping areas.
• Create a fire escape plan. Review and discuss this plan together with the family to let every member know what do to in case of a fire. Conducting a fire drill to familiarize evacuation routes and exits can be very helpful. In addition, teach children what to do when a fire occurs, especially the “stop, drop and roll” activity.
• Keep lighters, matches, and lighted candles out of children's reach. Also, children must never be left alone in a room with lighted candles.
• Keep a fire extinguisher nearby. When a fire does break out, having a fire extinguisher nearby to douse the flames quickly can help prevent significant losses and destruction. There is a class of fire extinguisher for every type of fire:
  • Class A - used for ordinary combustible materials, such as paper, cloth and wood
  • Class B - is utilized for flammable liquids, like oil, grease and gasoline
  • Class C - used for electrical fires
  • Class D - used on combustible metals
  • Class K - used for commercial cooking equipment and cooking media, such as fats or oils
• In the event of a fire, call for help using the emergency hotline.

Cooking Safety