Cooking fires most common on Thanksgiving
As many households across the country prepare to play host to friends and family over Thanksgiving, data shows that the holiday is the most common day of the year for cooking fires.
According to State Farm, insurance claims related to grease and cooking fires are more than twice as common on Thanksgiving compared to any other day in November as many families look to fry turkeys.
The firm adds that most homeowners insurance claims related to turkey fryer fires could be avoided, as more than a third involved incidents in which the fryer was placed on a patio or garage.
Most experts say fryers should be kept far away from any wooden structure. In addition, turkeys should be completely thawed and dried off before being placed in the hot oil in order to prevent an incident.
State Farm says cooking-related claims on Thanksgiving were most common in Texas, Illinois, Ohio and New York.
The National Fire Protection Association says that in addition to the risk of injury related to hot oil and grease, fires related to deep fryers cause more than $15 million in property damage annually.
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