MERIDIAN, Idaho — Thanksgiving is one of the busiest days around the country for firefighters, according to the National Fire Protection Association.
From 2014 to 2016, there were a reported 2,400 residential fires around the country on Thanksgiving. This totaled about $19 million in property loss, according to the U.S. Fire Administration.
One of the common ways a fire starts on Thanksgiving is because people want to deep fry a turkey.
“The one thing we see most often with turkey fryer fires is the level of oil in the container is too much,” Meridian Battalion Chief Tyler Rountree said. “Once the turkey is submerged, the oil overflows the top and it ignites, and you end up with fire everywhere.”
Rountree said it's best to make sure the turkey is thawed and that it is dry.
It’s also a good idea to make sure the fryer itself is far away from anything that can catch on fire.
“Find a place that is open outside your garage, I know it's cold outside and it seems like a perfect place to have at least three walls around you and open the garage door to put your turkey fryer, not a good idea,” Rountree said.
Some more things to keep in mind as Thanksgiving dinner is being prepared is to keep kids away from the stove when food is cooking and check those fire detectors to make sure they're working.
“Smoke detectors, they save lives, we know the chirps are painful to listen to but, they're there for a reason,” Rountree said. “It’s important that those detectors are checked.”