Happy Thanksgiving From Minquas Fire Company

All of us at Minquas Fire and EMS would like to wish you a safe and healthy Thanksgiving.

If you or any of your loved ones will be using a turkey fryer this year please watch William Shatner & State Farm's informative youtube videos:

- Shatner's Story: http://youtu.be/EYkRF_FmD40

- Turkey Fryer Fire Demonstration: http://youtu.be/ETBD0EqQGoU

Follow these tips from the American Red Cross for Holiday Fire Safety.

http://oregonpacific.redcross.org/media/thanksgivingfirefacts.pdf

Sources: American Red Cross,* U.S. Fire Administration,** and the National Fire Protection Association.***

THANKSGIVING DAY FIRES

Fast Facts

• Cooking is the leading cause of home fires on
Thanksgiving Day.***

• Cooking fires nearly double on Thanksgiving
Day, occurring more than twice as often than
on another day.***

• Cooking fires are the number one cause of
home fires and home fire injuries.***

• Thanksgiving Day home fires cause more
property damage and claim more lives than
home fires on other days.**

• Eighty percent of Americans don't realize that
home fires are the single most common
disaster across the nation.*

• The number of home fires the American Red
Cross has responded to has risen 10% since
2000.*

• Every two and a half hours someone is killed
in a home fire. In a typical year, 20,000
people are injured in home fires.**

• Having a working smoke alarm reduces one's
chances of dying in a fire by nearly half.**

Preparedness Tips

Stay in the kitchen when you are frying, grilling, or broiling food. If you must leave the kitchen for
even a short period of time, turn off the stove.

If you are simmering, baking, boiling, or roasting food, check it regularly, remain in the home while
food is cooking, and use a timer to remind you that the stove or oven is on.

Avoid wearing loose clothing or dangling sleeves while cooking.

Keep kids away from cooking areas by enforcing a "kid-free zone" of three feet around the stove.

Keep anything that can catch on fire—pot holders, oven mitts, wooden utensils, paper or plastic
bags, food packaging, and towels or curtains—away from your stove top and oven or any other
appliance in the kitchen that generates heat.

If you must use a turkey fryer, make sure it is outdoors and in an open area away from all walls,
fences or other structures that could catch on fire and away from moisture that can cause serious
burns from steam or splattering hot oil. Always follow the manufacturer's instructions.

Smoke alarms save lives. Install a smoke alarm near your kitchen and use the test button to
check it each month. Replace all batteries at least once a year.

After your Thanksgiving guests leave, ask a family member to perform a home safety check to
ensure that all candles and smoking materials are extinguished.

Visit www.redcross.org/homefires for more information on how to be fire safe on Thanksgiving
Day.