Forget Black Friday, turkey fryer fire means Charred Thursday
Posted by andreaitis on November 26, 2009
Turkey Fryer fire leads to charred Thursday
Already found 3 stories about Thanksgiving Day fires caused by turkey fryer fiascos. Why was I googling ‘turkey fires,’ you ask? I was simply following T/S’er Elie Mystal’s wise advice by creating a post-dinner structured activity for the Thanksgiving guests. So, he didn’t specifically suggest googling for T-day disasters, but he did say “anything to keep people’s minds off of each other’s faults.” Other people’s tragedies certainly do that.
Anyway, turkey fryers are the Thanksgiving version of July 4th fireworks. All you need is a spark, a little wind or a bobbling hand and you’ve got Charred Thursday before you even get to Black Friday. This year, early reports detail incidents in Fargo, North Dakota ($20,ooo in damage); North Babylon, New York (35 firefighters responded); and Columbus, Ohio.
Fire crews were able to contain the blaze in about 15 minutes, but the fire had already ripped through most of the home and destroyed a pickup truck.
The homeowner told NBC 4 oil was heating in the fryer, which was placed at the back of the house, when the fryer fell over from the wind.
Four people were home at the time. All escaped the fire without injuries.
via Turkey Fryer Causes Fire, Home Severely Damaged | NBC4i.com
Damage is estimated at $15,000 for the Ohio fryer fire.
Just one more reason to avoid fried foods.
de.tech.ting 
markbolton said
“The homeowner told NBC 4 oil was heating in the fryer, which was placed at the back of the house, when the fryer fell over from the wind.”
I’ve deep fried turkeys for the last 5 years, and I find it really hard to believe that the wind tipped over the fryer. A turkey fryer uses about 3 gallons of oil in a huge pot, and the pot sits on a very sturdy, legged stand. It would take one hell of a wind to knock one over. Unless, of course, “wind” means “careless or drunk family member.”
Having grown tired of the whole oil mess, this year I used Char-Broil’s Big Easy Infrared Turkey Fryer. http://www.charbroil.com/Consumer/ProductSeriesPromo.aspx?ProductSeriesID=95
The turkey came out much juicier than any I’d fried in oil. I cooked three 16 pound turkeys in just over six hours. Much easier and far less susceptible to “wind.”
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andreaitis said
Police are investigating the Ohio incident, and I’m sure the first thing they’ll want to know is if something (or someone) other than the turkey was fried.
You cooked three 16 pound turkeys? I’m amazed you’re still upright at this point. Does the infrared obliterate the tryptophan haze?
steveintransit said
Did you just misquote Hendrix?
At our family T-day gatherings, we usually end up talking about the folks who burn down their houses deep frying turkeys- it’s a predictable enough annual event we do away with googling it.
One of my sisters mentioned they use peanut oil which is hotter than your typical veggie or canola (not to mention more expensive). And, that men only like to cook if there’s danger involved.
I’d wonder what percentages of households talk about this over their own dinners…
andreaitis said
Hah, no Hendrix misquote. But might be fun to create a turkey fryer fire soundtrack. Could include ‘Burning Down the House,’ ‘Disco Inferno,’ ‘The Roof is on Fire,’ ‘Ring of Fire,’ ‘I’m on Fire,”This Fire’ … other favorites? We can easily make a double-CD.