Texas Is #1 In Thanksgiving Day Cooking-Related Insurance Claims

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NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - The honor is far from dubious. According to the insurance company State Farm, Texas is number one in the nation when it comes to Thanksgiving Day cooking-related fire and smoke claims.

There are cooking fires at hundreds of homes each year, but the numbers go up dramatically during the holiday season.

According to State Farm, there have been 39 cooking-related fire claims made by customers in the state since 2005. During average days in November and December of 2014 there was an average of 18 cooking fire related claims made each day. That number nearly doubled on Thanksgiving and Christmas day.

While the number of cooking fire insurance claims always go up during the holidays, the average number of  holiday cooking fires haven't increased since 2013. Experts attribute that to a decrease in the deep fried turkey trend.

Here are some cooking safety tips that you should follow year-round.

• If you need to leave the stove, even for a second, turn off the stove.
• Have a "kid-free zone" of at least 3 feet around the stove and areas where hot food or drink is prepared or carried
• Keep anything that can catch fire — oven mitts, wooden utensils, food packaging, towels or curtains — away from your stovetop
• Make sure your smoke alarms are working
• Stay in the kitchen while you are frying, grilling, boiling or broiling food
• Keep an eye on what you fry. If you see wisps of smoke or the oil smells, immediately turn off the burner and/or carefully remove the pan from the burner. Smoke is a danger sign that the oil is too hot.
• Always cook with a lid beside your pan. If you have a fire, slide the lid over the pan and turn off the burner or use an approved fire extinguisher. Do not remove the cover because the fire could start again. Let the pan cool for a long time. Never throw water on a kitchen fire.
• Keep an extinguisher approved for cooking or grease fire nearby

According to statistics from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), fire departments across the country responded to an average of 1,000 home fires every day and more than two of every five, between the years 2009 and 2013, started in the kitchen or cooking area.

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