With Thanksgiving just around the corner, the Raleigh Fire Department (RFD) is guiding locals on a matter that can turn a family feast into a fiery fiasco: turkey frying. In their quest to avoid an undercooked bird, some residents might flirt with danger by not paying heed to the correct thawing and cooking procedures. RFD's Lt. Lemuel Hubbard warns, "Turkey frying can be dangerous because oil fires happen quickly," adding that preparedness for fire safety is critical when cooking during the holiday season.
An upcoming live fire demonstration, scheduled for next Friday and organized by RFD, aims to educate by unsettling: it will showcase the hazards of frying a turkey that's been insufficiently thawed. "Make sure to plan for fire safety especially when cooking this holiday season," Lt. Hubbard said in a statement.
The National Fire Protection Association has marked Thanksgiving Day as a peak time for cooking-related home fires; around 1,000 such incidents are reported every year on this day. The RFD insists that this statistic is not meant to scare but rather to prepare, pressing home the importance of vigilance in the face of tradition mixed with the use of high-heat cooking methods such as turkey fryers.
