Kitchen fires are a serious risk at any time of the year, but studies show that on Thanksgiving Day, the number of unintentional kitchen fires triples in number. This is because so many people are creating home cooked meals on Thanksgiving Day and may not be seasoned in the kitchen, or may get distracted. From 2009 to 2011, there were reportedly about 1,300 cooking fires that all occurred on Thanksgiving Day. This is more than three times the daily average, which is about 400 cooking fires per day.
It is important to stand near all items that you are cooking at all times. Fire safety experts say that chefs need to stand near their pans and stay in the kitchen whenever cooking, grilling, or broiling food. Cooking fires account for nearly 150,000 of the household unintentional fires each year and unattended cooking is a top cause for cooking fires. Cooking fires also cause the most home fire-related injuries. About 27% of all cooking fires result in injury, and the CPSC says that there are about 3,450 injuries from these fires per year!
The CPSC estimates that there are a total of 362,300 unintentional residential fires per year, and these result in about 2,260 deaths and 12,820 injuries. Also, this accounts for nearly $7 billion in property damage. It is important to avoid wearing loose-fitting clothing with long sleeves near ranges or ovens, and to watch children closely so they don't come into contact with cooking food or hot stovetops. Children instinctively want to touch cooking supplies, and need to be cautious when doing so.
Also, individuals who are cooking need to make sure that they turn all pan handles to the back of the stove to prevent kids from spilling a pan's scaling hot contents onto themselves. The CPSC says that it is important for individuals to never pour water or flour on a fire, and call 911 immediately in case of an emergency. Since 2003, the CPSC says that they have been notified of at least 125 turkey-fryer related accidents.
These accidents include house fires, burns, explosions, smoke inhalations, and laceration incidents reported to the CPSC staff. There were also 55 injuries among these incidents, but thankfully no one has died from a turkey fryer accident. Turkey fryers are supposed to be used far away from the home, and should never be used either in the kitchen, on the porch, or in the garage. They need to be used in an outdoor area that is spacious and devoid of flammable materials.
If you want more information about the danger of cooking fires or about burn injury litigation, then you will want to contact a local personal injury attorney for more information. You may be able to seek financial compensation from the family who hosted the holiday and caused the house fire that resulted in your injury. Also, if a person was negligent in the kitchen and caused a fire that resulted in injury to you or your family then you may have the right to seek financial compensation.
Sometimes, you may even be able to seek compensation for a defective product. If you are using a cooking product that malfunctions or sparks for no reason, then you may have a product liability case. Defective appliances should be reported to the CPSC and you should also contact the company. Don't hesitate to call your local personal injury and get started today. This directory is set up to help you locate a nearby lawyer who can adequately handle your case!