PARMA, Ohio — Did you know Thanksgiving is the peak for home cooking fires followed by Christmas Day and Christmas Eve?
"Cooking is the leading cause of reported home fires and home fire injuries and the second leading cause of home fire deaths," according to the National Fire Protection Association.
So with the holiday season upon us, 3News' David Greenberg talked with Parma firefighter Preston Bures to get some expert advice on fire safety -- including some of the most common mistakes people make.
FRYING A TURKEY
If you're cooking Thanksgiving dinner this year and your plans include frying the turkey, you need to be extra cautious.
“We really want to keep it outside," Bures says. "Do not try and fry it in your garage, don’t try and do it in the basement and please do not try and do it in the living room.”
He said you need to make sure you have a working fire extinguisher nearby as well.
KITCHEN FIRES
“Probably one of the biggest things that we see, one of the biggest causes of fires is clutter in the kitchen," Bures says. "Boxes, grocery bags, packaging, that’s a really big thing we see. Actually, surprisingly enough, another thing we see is people that leave pizza boxes on the stove. We’ve actually seen a few dogs get up on burners and touch a burner trying to get the pizza box.”
Another concern? Draping a towel of the handle of your oven door.
“The danger is sometimes they get kind of stuck in the oven," Bures explains. "People don’t notice. They close them up and your towel lights up, which is pretty bad.”
And if you're frying food on the stove, Bures says it's important to have some kind of lid in case of an emergency.
“If you don’t have a lid that came with your pan, the other really good option is just a cookie sheet. If this thing catches on fire, we would just turn our burner off, step back and slowly slide the pan over top of the fire. Call the fire department and we’ll come help you dispose of the grease properly. The last thing you want to do is take this and try and dump it in the sink.”
FIRE EXTINGUISHERS AND SMOKE DETECTORS
Bures says it's important to make sure you have a working fire extinguisher in the kitchen -- and one that you can actually handle.
“If you have a 20-pound one, maybe that’s something your grandmother, your grandfather really can’t have.”
Where you store that fire extinguisher is also important.
“We want to have this somewhere where we can get to it," Bures says. "Hanging up on the wall, on the counter. We don’t want it underneath the sink jammed way in the back.”
And make sure you know how to use it.
Bures gave a demonstration, which you can watch in the video below.
As far as smoke detectors, Bures says you need to have at least one on every floor.
CHRISTMAS LIGHTS AND EXTENSION CORDS
Christmas lights and extension cords can also be a source of heat that can trigger holiday-related fires. Bures shows just how hot they can be in the demonstration below.