North Metro Fire Rescue is cautioning Coloradoans who plan to partake in a trend for cooking during their holiday festivities-the deep fried turkey! As turkey fryers increase in their popularity, safety organizations have voiced their stance in opposing this cooking device. In fact, the National Fire Protection Association has stated that they do not recommend the use of turkey fryers and Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL), an independent product-safe testing organization, has decided not to certify ANY turkey fryers with their trusted UL mark.
The hazards found with these devices often come due to the consumer's failure to properly read and use the instructions of their turkey fryers. And, when a turkey fryer is used improperly or malfunctions, the dangers are extreme. Some of the known hazards include:
- Units easily tip over, spilling up to five gallons of hot oil within the cooking pot. This oil reaches temperatures over 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
- If a person overfills the cooking pot with oil, the oil can spill out of the unit when the turkey is placed into the cooking pot. Oil hits the burner/flames causing a fire that can easily engulf the entire unit.
- Partially frozen turkeys placed into the fryer can cause a spillover effect-resulting in an extensive fire or explosion.
- With no thermostat controls, the units also have the potential to overheat the oil to the point of combustion.
- The sides of the cooking pot, lid and pot handles get dangerously hot, posing severe burn hazards.
North Metro Fire Rescue wants you to have a great meal this Thanksgiving.
However, we hope everyone will do that while keeping safety in the forefront of their minds-emergencies don't take holidays!
North Metro Fire Rescue is dedicated to your quality care. North Metro Fire Rescue provides fire protection, emergency medical services, hazardous materials response and rescue services to their community. Formed in 1946, the district now covers 115 square miles with a population of approximately 90,000 people including the City and County of Broomfield, the City of Northglenn and unincorporated areas of Boulder, Adams and Jefferson Counties.
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