According to the National Fire Protection Association, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are peak days for fires, with more than three times the national daily average. The Council Bluffs Fire Department echoed this, saying the number of fires increases dramatically during the holidays. “People are cooking more, quite a bit more,” CBFD Capt. Mike Godbout said. “They cook bigger meals and interact with other people. Sometimes they don’t pay as much attention to what’s going on because they’re doing other things. They have family there.” Godbout said one of the biggest dangers is high-temperature cooking oils, such as those used for deep-frying turkey. He said if you also use a turkey cooker, make sure it’s outside, at least ten feet from your house, and make sure there’s no water involved. “Make sure your turkey is completely thawed,” Godbout said. “You don’t want it interacting with the water.” If you’re cooking high-temperature oils on the stove and you get sparks, Godbout said there are a few things you shouldn’t do. “You hear myths, old legends about trying to spread flour or baking soda if you have a hot cooking oil fire,” Godbout said. “You’re not going to gently spread powder over it or put baking soda over it to put it out.” Instead, he said, the best way is to remove the heat source and cut off the air to the fire. “Make sure you have a cover,” Godbout said. “If you can cover it safely, you’re taking in the air, and if you can remove the heat, then you’re done.” Godbout said you can always call the fire department for help, even if it doesn’t seem like a big fire or if the fire is already out. “We can come, we’re ready, we can move it for you,” Godbout said. “Then everyone stays safe and we don’t have any burns.” The fire department can also check walls for hot spots or residual heat if that’s a concern, and if hot oil burns you, Godbout said, don’t cover it up with anything. “Tap water, not necessarily ice or something very cold, because you’ve already damaged that layer of skin,” Godbout said. “So, we’re just talking about putting a little tap water in it to keep it cool.”
According to the National Fire Protection Association, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are peak days for fires, with more than three times the national daily average.
The Council Bluffs Fire Department echoed this, saying the number of fires increases dramatically during the holidays.
“People are cooking more, quite a bit more,” CBFD Capt. Mike Godbout said. “They cook bigger meals and interact with other people. Sometimes they don’t pay as much attention to what’s going on because they’re doing other things. They have family there.”
Godbout said one of the biggest dangers is high-temperature cooking oils, such as those used to deep-fry turkey.
He said if you also use a turkey cooker, make sure it’s outside, at least ten feet from your house, and make sure there’s no water involved.
“Make sure your turkey is completely thawed,” Godbout said. “You don’t want it interacting with the water.”
If you’re cooking with high-temperature oils on the stove and sparks, Godbout said there are a few things you shouldn’t do.
“You hear myths, old legends about trying to spread flour or baking soda if you have a hot cooking oil fire,” Godbout said. “You’re not going to gently spread powder over it or put baking soda over it to put it out.”
Instead, he said, the best way is to remove the heat source and cut off the air to the fire.
“Make sure you have a cover,” Godbout said. “If you can cover it safely, you’re taking the air out, and if you can take the heat out, you’re done.”
Godbout said you can always call the fire department for help, even if it doesn’t seem like a big deal or if the fire is already out.
“We can come, we’re ready, we can move it for you,” Godbout said. “Then everyone stays safe and we don’t have any burns.”
The fire department can also check the walls for hot spots or residual heat if that’s a concern, and if hot oil burns you, Godbout said there’s no covering it.
“Tap water, not necessarily ice or something very cold because you’ve already damaged that layer of skin,” Godbout said. “So, we’re just talking about putting a little tap water in it to keep it cool.”
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