Safety Should Be Another Great Thanksgiving Tradition
November 18 2015 - 4:00PM
Business Wire
Turkey fryer fires and their blazing imagery get plenty of
attention when it comes to Thanksgiving safety. And they should.
Unattended cooking, however, remains the biggest problem on a day
with three times as many home fires as any other day of the
year.
For instance, U.S. fire departments answered 445 home-cooking
fires daily from 2009-2013, according to the National Fire
Protection Association, but that number reached 1,550 on
Thanksgiving Day in 2013. More than 60 percent of the fires started
on stovetops and about one-third resulted from unattended
cooking.
In an effort to combat these hazards, Southern California Edison
urges its customers to make safety a priority in their preparations
this Thanksgiving. It is essential in reducing the spike in
Thanksgiving Day fires that cause an average of 10 fatalities, 50
injuries and $28 million in property damage.
“People can get distracted while preparing multiple dishes and
entertaining at Thanksgiving,” said Don Neal, SCE director of
Corporate Health and Safety. “But cooking, especially on the
stovetop, should never be left unattended. This and other basic
safety precautions can help keep your Thanksgiving fire and
injury-free.”
And deep fryers? They cause about 700 fires yearly compared to
the 99,000 that start on stovetops and Underwriters Laboratories
(UL), the top independent product safety company, still won’t
certify the fryers.
SCE recommends some other safety tips for Thanksgiving:
- Ensure that all appliances bear the UL
label and replace appliances with frayed or worn cords.
- Plug countertop appliances into Ground
Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI)-protected outlets.
- Locate all appliances away from the
sink. Remember, water and electricity do not mix.
- Do not overload outlets with multiple
adaptors or power strips.
- Do not use extension cords with major
appliances.
- Never fight an electrical or grease
fire with water. Keep a fire extinguisher, UL listed and rated for
electrical and grease fires, nearby.
- Unplug appliances that aren’t in use,
preventing them from being turned on accidentally.
- Keep appliance cords out of reach of
children and keep the floor clear of other cords to prevent
falls.
For more on electrical safety at home, visit
on.sce.com/staysafe. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
About Southern California Edison
An Edison International (NYSE:EIX) company, Southern California
Edison is one of the nation’s largest electric utilities, serving a
population of nearly 14 million via 5 million customer accounts in
a 50,000-square-mile service area within Central, Coastal and
Southern California.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20151118006613/en/
Southern California EdisonMediaPaul Netter, 626-302-2255
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