Turkey smoker linked to TN home fire
Some residents may be filing a Tennessee homeowners insurance claim after a turkey smoker caused a fire that led to severe damage to their Murfreesboro property just before Thanksgiving.
Fire officials told The Daily News Journal that the fire started when a blanket the resident had placed on the smoker located on a deck caught fire, and flames quickly spread across the deck and a detached garage. The resident said he had used the blanket in an attempt to maintain heat levels inside the device.
Once the fire was out, Murfreesboro Fire Marshal Ken Honeycutt told the paper that residents should be extremely careful using any kind of cooking device and to use their "common sense."
"These are heat-producing devices and can start fires," he said. "Reading the instructions thoroughly highly reduces the likelihood that something will go wrong."
Honeycutt also told the paper residents should never leave cooking devices or grills unattended and keep a fire extinguisher nearby.
Cooking fires cause a significant number of homeowners insurance claims each year. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, they caused more than $307 million in fire damages in 2009.
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