CHARLOTTE, N.C. (November 26, 2019) – This Thanksgiving holiday, AAA Carolinas Insurance urges Carolinians to practice safety in an effort to avoid any mishaps in their homes.
“Whether you’re traveling or hosting this Thanksgiving, we tend to get wrapped up in the excitement and that’s unfortunately when accidents can occur,” said Jim McCafferty, President of AAA Carolinas Insurance. “This year focus, stay calm, slow down and run through the mental checklists to keep you and your family safe.”
Festivities can often take attention away from safety in the kitchen and more cooking fires occur on Thanksgiving day than any other day of the year. According to the National Fire Protection Association, U.S. fire departments responded to 1,600 home cooking fires on Thanksgiving Day in 2017.
Before cooking this year, AAA Carolinas Insurance recommends:
- Stay in the kitchen while cooking on the stovetop so you can keep an eye on the food.
- Plan television time, video chats, chores and other activities outside of meal preparation time to limit distractions.
- Put snacks, games and toys in other rooms to keep children and guests from overcrowding the kitchen.
- Grills should only be used outdoors.
- Never cook while tired or impaired.
- Keep dishtowels, oven mitts, paper products and other flammable materials away from heat.
- Smother grease fires with a metal lid or baking soda. Never use water, and make sure to turn off the heat firsts. If a fire starts in the oven, turn off the heat and keep the oven door closed.
- Check to make sure your smoke alarms are working and have a functional fire extinguisher handy.
- Have the peace of mind of knowing your home is protected, should anything go wrong this holiday season. Visit https://carolinas.aaa.com/insurance/ to speak to an agent and get a quote today.
For those traveling to see friends and family this Thanksgiving, be sure to secure your home before leaving, as predators often take advantage of holidays to strike.
AAA Carolinas Insurance offers these tips for securing your home:
- Lock all doors and windows.
- Leave low-risk lights on to create an appearance of being home, or put lights on a timer. You could also consider leaving a radio on for noise.
- If you still have one, turn your home phone’s volume down so no one hears it go unanswered.
- Let a neighbor know of your travel plans so they can keep an eye on things for you. Ask them to park in your driveway to have car movement.
- Don’t advertise that you are on vacation on social media – wait to post until you get back.
- Unplug appliances.
- Invest in an alarm system.
Give sliding doors and windows extra protection.