Thanksgiving Fire Safety

Thanksgiving is a day to spend quality time with loved ones, cook your favorite recipes, and of course…eat.

But a fire or injury can happen at any moment if you’re not careful. 

Redwood News spoke with Talia Flores, the Community Risk Reduction Specialist at Humboldt Bay Fire.

“Thanksgiving is the leading day of the year for home fires, including kitchen equipment,” Flores said.

Whether you’re baking or frying a turkey, follow these steps to prevent an emergency.

“It’s important when you’re either baking a turkey that your oven is clean, that’ll prevent any extra smoke buildup or any extra unnecessary burning,” Flores said.  “If you’re frying your turkey, you need to make sure that it’s completely defrosted […] your turkey should already be in the fridge, chilling out, defrosting, and make sure that you’ve got a lot of clearance. Don’t fry your turkey directly next to your house, directly in your backyard. make sure you’ve got a lot of clearance and open space for everybody.”

It’s not just the turkey you need to worry about. 

“Keep a kid free zone in the kitchen–three feet away from the oven and all cooking equipment,” Flores said. “It’s important to keep your cords from electrical knives–coffeemaker, heating plates, anything like that off of hanging off the counter […] you always want to make sure that you’re watching what you’re cooking, whether it’s on the stovetop or in the oven, to stay vigilant and be aware of what you’ve got cooking.”

Humboldt Bay Fire will be fully staffed this thanksgiving to ensure that everyone is safe and enjoying the holiday. 

“On Thanksgiving day and on the following Friday, we will be closed at our headquarters office here but emergency services will not stop,” Flores said. “We will still have fully staffed engines and all of our stations will be responding to any kind of emergency.”