The most wonderful time of the year doesn't come with out a few risks. As North Georgians prepare for Thanksgiving cooking, the Hall County Fire Department has some tips to keep homes warm and welcoming without burning up.
Fire Marshal Bryan Cash stressed the easiest and most important thing family cooks can do is keep an eye on the food that's cooking.
"We never want to leave food unattended, especially grease. This happens to be our number one fire call in Hall County," said Cash. "So we want to make sure we stay with the food at all times. We hear a lot of the times... 'I was just gone for a few minutes.' And what really happens is people get busy and they realize that few minutes is actually more than a few minutes and before they know it, they have a fire."
One simple thing to do all year round is turn your pot handles inward to prevent little ones from grabbing them or people from bumping in to them. In either situation , the pots can fall, spill and cause burns.
Those cooking for a large party will probably see the party in the kitchen with them as they cook. This can pose a problem when children are playing and conversations can distract from things on the stove.
He said being aware is a good prevention method as well. "In your hurry or in your haste you tend to make the small mistakes you wouldn't normally do, so just be aware and maintain a good focus on what you're doing."
The love for deep fried chicken often extends to it's larger cousin the turkey this holiday. Cash encourages those deep frying a turkey to use extra caution.
"You have a big burner, you have a big pot, it's not very stable anyway . You'll want to do that outside, out on the porch or deck and away from the home," said Cash.
Most importantly, make sure your turkey is thawed and not partially or fully frozen.
"You want it to be thawed out, you don't want it frozen and you don't want to be wet, pat it down. Partially frozen turkeys, when they're placed in to fryers, it caused the water to expand and in return, causes the grease to boil over," said Cash. When the grease boils over, it could touch the burner, and Cash said that can cause the whole fryer to go up in flames.
If you do end up with a cooking fire in your home, Cash said keep it contained. "If you have a fire on the stove top , try to cover that with a lid and turn off the heat source. If you have a fire in the oven, leave the door closed and turn the heat source off and of course, call 911 on either one of those." He also encouraged having a fire extinguisher in the kitchen and recommended an ABC extinguisher, which can handle multiple types of fires. That includes grease fires, which should not be put out with water.
Lastly, no home should be without a working smoke detector. Cash said Hall County Fire will come to your home and install a smoke detector for free if you do not have one. Cash said, don't risk it during the holiday season if you don't have one, call the Hall County Fire Department at 770-531-6838 if you need one installed.
