Delores Lekowski touched our hearts at the 2006 Tennessee Public Fire and Life Safety Educator's Conference. Delores Lekowski is a burn survivor and she is best known for her creation of "The Hurting Angels", a book with a special message for children who have suffered burns, illness, or other traumas that may hurt their self-esteem Please check out Delores's wonderful website to learn more about her and her message about fire prevention and recovery from burn injuries .www.thehurtingangels.com
When Can a Great Tasting
Turkey Be a Fire Hazard?
By Delores Lekowski
Burn Survivors & Fire Prevention Advocate
Author of
The Hurting Angels & The Power Angels
...When you deep fry it! Deep-fried turkey is unbelievably wonderful, but this method of cooking is very dangerous, and safety has to be of an utmost concern for those using this method to cook their turkey.
Deep frying turkey has been a method of cooking in the South for years, and is becoming increasingly popular in other parts of the country. Having personally tasted a fried turkey, I have to say it is very tasty. But watching it being cooked in this method was enough for me not to ever use this method.
As I look back on this particular Thanksgiving where the fried turkey was served, I remember all the dangerous mistakes that were made. First the cooker was set up in the garage near the opened doors. It was hooked up to a small propane tank that sat, too close for comfort, to the fire. If you ask me, it was a disaster waiting to happen. Fortunately it didn’t happen that particular time, or this article would be very different.
These fryers are considered so unsafe that the Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., (UL) refuses to certify any of them as safe. You can view a video on the hazards of these cookers and what can happen while using them at the UL website at www.ul.com/consumers/turkeys.html. If you are thinking of getting a fryer for your turkey, I recommend that you watch this video first – in fact, I plead with you to watch it.
But if you still want to fry your turkey, please read and diligently follow these important safety rules, with thanks to UL:
(1) Before you even start, fully read the manufactures directions for your fryer and follow them carefully.
(2) Set up the fryer outside on a flat service ONLY.
(3) NEVER use on a deck or any wooden or flammable surface.
(4) Don’t walk away while fryer is in use. You need to watch it constantly. This means once the fire under it is lit, you cannot leave to go get something in the house or do other things. You must watch over it constantly!
(5) Never over-fill the fryer with oil. Again, follow the manufacturer’s directions!
(6) Make sure the turkey is completely thawed, because any moisture can cause the oil to explode.
(7) Have an all-purpose fire extinguisher close by, and NEVER use water on a grease fire.
(8) The lid and handles will be very hot, enough to give you a third-degree burn if you touch them. Make sure your pot holders are insulated and children and pets stay away.
(9) Many of these fryers do not have thermostats, and the grease can boil over. This is why you need to watch over it and not over-fill the unit with oil!
(10) Do not use a tripod like stand, because they are not stable and can cause the fryer and the 5 gallons of 700-degree oil to spill. The second the oil touches the flames, it will flare up in an out-of-control fire. Put the fryer on something stable and non-flammable.
Every one of these rules is equally crucial to your safety. Please follow them and watch the video so you know what you may be getting into before you fire up the fryer.
If you have your heart set on deep-frying your holiday turkey, please be very careful - because nothing is good enough to justify having yourself or your loved ones end up in a burn unit. As for me, I will let a restaurant fry it for me or I will just do without. The oven-roasted turkey is healthier anyway.
I am sure that I have not made any friends in the turkey fryer manufacturing business, but that’s all right. If I kept someone out of the burn unit, I don’t care who I upset!
Have a safe and wonderful holiday season!
WATCH THE VIDEO!
Controlling Fire!
By Delores Lekowski
Burn Survivor & Fire Prevention Advocate
Author of
The Hurting Angels & The Power Angels
Someone once told me that he wasn’t afraid of fire because it was an element that we could control! His comment surprised me, because he was a burn survivor – and burn survivors know better then anyone how fast a fire can get out of control and the damage it can cause.
The recent wildfires in California prove his statement wrong! While we do have a certain amount of control over this element, we never have total control. We need to be constantly aware that fire can quickly get out of control, with devastating results.
The magnitude of the fires in California and the damage it left in its wake are hard to grasp. So are the trauma and disruption to those who were in the fire’s path. We can only imagine what it was like getting a phone call telling you that you have ten minutes to grab what you can and get out. Few people can imagine what it’s like to leave your home and belongings, fully aware that upon your return, there might be nothing left – not to mention the disruption, discomfort and uncertainty of having to spend the next three or four days in a shelter. After the fires were out and they were allowed to go home, many found nothing but ashes, everything they owned gone.
This fire struck “close to home” for my family. My son-in-law’s brother lives in San Diego, and he had to quickly evacuate. We eventually learned that he did get out safely and, since all of the shelters were full, he and two other families were offered shelter on his boss’s boat. When he was able to return to his home, he found it was still standing without any damage. His neighbors weren’t as lucky.
When the fires finally died down, more than 2,000 homes had been destroyed, and at least seven people had been killed. What a sobering reminder of how uncontrollable this force of nature can be!
uncontrollable of situations. There were entire communities that were spared from the California wildfires – the fires, in effect, passed right around them, leaving them untouched. Safety officials are attributing those “saves” to strict building and landscaping rules that are becoming increasingly common in wildfire areas to discourage the spread of fire. These rules include trees and bushes that must be a certain distance from the house and cannot exceed a certain height. Roofs must be nonflammable. Shrubs near the house must always be watered. Indoor sprinklers are required. Those homeowners who followed the rules – some grudgingly because of the extra effort and expense – are now glad they did.
Let us all take the opportunity to remember that it is worth the extra effort and expense to practice fire prevention in our daily lives. We should never get too comfortable with the idea that we are in total control when we turn on our stoves to make a cup of tea. We must never ignore fire safety when we light a candle or the outside grill. We must always be aware that loose-fitting sleeves can catch fire over a stove burner, that an overloaded electrical circuit can cause sparks behind the walls, and that a carelessly discarded cigarette can cause a smoldering fire that erupts in flames on the living room couch after everyone has gone to bed. Caution and respect for fire should go hand in hand when we do everyday routine things. Putting safety measures like ionization and photoelectric smoke alarms in our homes, installing arc-fault circuit interrupters in our electrical panels or purchasing a new flame-resistant mattress can be an added expense – but might ultimately save the lives of you and your loved ones.
To those affected by the fires in California, I would like to extend my condolences. My thoughts and prayers are with you.
