Firefighters show proper turkey frying technique to prevent Thanksgiving Day blaze, When it comes to feeding the family on Thanksgiving, nothing is likely to ruin the occasion more quickly than the turkey going up in flames.
With this in mind, members of the Midland Fire Department, joined by State Fire Marshal Rich Miller, hosted an informational demonstration on turkey fryer safety Monday, Nov. 17.
Staged at the department's training house, 3601 Rockwell in Midland, firefighters carefully set up two demonstrations of oil-based deep-fried turkey setups.
One, set up six feet away from the home, would serve as the example of proper cooking precautions. The other, where a frozen bird would be dropped into a vat of hotter-than-advised oil, served as the example of how quickly a fire can erupt.
Josh Mosher, Midland's fire marshal, noted the importance of getting proper fire safety information out to the public ahead of the holiday.
"The number one day for structure fires is Thanksgiving," Mosher said.
As the popularity of deep-fried turkeys has risen, Mosher noted that Midland County has dealt with two structure fires on the holiday in recent years.
Demonstrating the proper way to deep fry a turkey, Midland Fire Chief Chris Coughlin explained simple measures, including thawing the bird and measuring the proper amount of oil prior to placing the bird inside the fryer.
Done properly, firefighters dunked a big bird into a vat of hot oil as a pillar of smoke rose, wafting the smell of turkey onto the crowd of safety personnel waiting nearby.
In contrast, the improper deep-frying station was placed inside the training house's garage; something the chief said can lead to substantial structure damage. Immediately upon lowering the frozen bird into its oily drum, a brief puff of smoke was quickly followed by rising flames.
"It's not often you get to start a garage fire," Chief Coughlin said.
Before the fire could spiral out of control, crews in full gear sprayed the vat and ended the blaze.
"It's essential to read the manufacturer's recommendations before you start cooking and never do any frying indoors," Miller said.
