Stafford turkey fryer demonstration doesn’t catch fire

Dropping a frozen turkey in a fryer can spell disaster at Thanksgiving, sparking large fires that have been known to burn down entire homes.

On Wednesday, the Stafford County Fire Department wanted to show those dangers of frying a turkey without being prepared. However, things didn’t go according to plan.

When a firefighter dropped a frozen turkey into a large fryer full of hot grease, aside from the awful smell of a frozen turkey meeting hot grease, nothing happened.

“There wasn’t anyone factor that caused the demonstration to not go according to plan, but it did show a few things that could cause problems, like the water splashing out of the pot,” stated the department’s Public Information Officer Katie Caler.

Nevertheless, the dangers of cooking fires are real, and they increase on Thanksgiving Day, officials said.

According to the North Carolina Department of Insurance’s website, cooking fires are the number one cause of home fires and injuries in the U.S., with approximately 2,000 home fires occurring on the holiday itself. Turkey fryers themselves cause an average of five deaths per year, 60 injuries, and more than $15 million in property damage.

The Stafford County Fire Department makes several recommendations to ensure a safe holiday. Among those are making sure to stay near what you’re cooking. That way, if anything does happen, you can react immediately.

Among the recommendations is to make sure the pot used for cooking or frying is on a balanced surface regardless of whether cooking is being done indoors or out. Also, having oven mittens and fire extinguishers nearby is recommended as well.

As far as advice when dealing with turkey fryers, the department said to plan how you’re going to cook your turkey a week in advance. This is especially important when thawing the turkey for frying since an unthawed turkey causes fires when dropped into hot grease.

The department also cautioned about working with oil since it can cause fires by spilling or splashing on the flames. They also recommended not use a turkey fryer under any structure that could cause a potential fire hazard.