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SALT LAKE CITY -- As you prepare your holiday feast, also think about this: Thanksgiving is the peak day for cooking fires, according the Red Cross. There are a few things to be aware of to prevent holiday fires.
Ninety percent of cooking fires that happen on Thanksgiving are caused by unattended cooking.
90 percent of cooking fires are caused by unattended cooking. -American Red Cross
Red Cross volunteer Stan Rosenzweig said, "Most people, if they would stay in the kitchen and not go scurrying all over the house to multitask, but keep someone in the kitchen to keep an eye on the stove, that will go a long way to prevent fires."
Rosenzweig says fires keep them most busy. "Right here in Utah our 1,200 volunteers respond to over two incidents a week, most of them are fires, and most of them are preventable."
The American Red Cross has come out with tips to keep your Thanksgiving fire-free. They include:
- Turn the handles of pots and pans on the stove inward to avoid accidents;
- Keep pets away from the kitchen this holiday;
- Be alert;
- Keep the area around your stove clear;
- Roll up your sleeves to cook
- Pull your hair back.
We all think of Thanksgiving as a time for family, good food and football, but it's also prime time for cooking fires.
–Maxine Margaritis, CEO of the American Red Cross Utah Region
"If you are impaired, been drinking or taking medications, you wouldn't want people to get behind the wheel of a car. But we have no problem letting people stand in front of a stove," Rosenzweig said. "If they could just be more careful, we won't have to get our volunteers out of bed at 2:00 in the morning to help them find a place when their house burns down."
Fires in the kitchen aren't the only thing you should be cautious of. Tonight at 10 we're going to look at some other dangers surrounding Thanksgiving, like food poisoning, robberies, and more.
E-mail: abutterfield@ksl.com
