With Thanksgiving this week there will be a lot of cooking and hanging of holiday lights and decorations. However, that also means this time of year is notorious for accidental fires. In fact, according to NFPA, Thanksgiving is the leading day of the year for home fires involving cooking equipment. Although we at LSS Life Safety Services® deal with passive fire protection systems in healthcare, commercial, and industrial buildings, we are always supporters for fire safety in any kind of structure, including your homes.
The holidays are a special time to spend with your friends and family. Here are a few tips we would like to pass on and help keep you and your family safe this holiday season.
- Stay in the kitchen when you are cooking on the stovetop so you can keep an eye on the food.
- Stay in the home when cooking your turkey and check on it frequently.
- Keep children away from the stove. The stove will be hot and kids should stay 3 feet away.
- Make sure kids stay away from hot food and liquids. The steam or splash from vegetables, gravy or coffee could cause serious burns.
- Keep the floor clear so you don’t trip over kids, toys, pocketbooks or bags.
- Keep knives out of the reach of children.
- Be sure electric cords from an electric knife, coffee maker, plate warmer or mixer are not dangling off the counter within easy reach of a child.
- Keep matches and utility lighters out of the reach of children — up high in a locked cabinet.
- Never leave children alone in room with a lit candle.
- Make sure your smoke alarms are working. Test them by pushing the test button.
For more information on cooking safety tips, please visit NFPA’s website.
Happy Thanksgiving!