New Hanover County Fire Rescue offers safety tips for outdoor turkey frying

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Thanksgiving is coming up, and many people enjoy deep frying turkeys.

New Hanover County Fire Rescue advises people to take their time when doing so.

“What we want to do is we want to make sure is that we have the turkey fryer on a flat surface, at least ten feet away from the home and anything that’s covering it,” said Britney Melvin, Community Risk Reduction Coordinator with Fire Rescue. “We do not want anything around it that could catch on fire. We want to make sure that children and pets are not anywhere around the turkey fryer at any time.”

Melvin adds that you should make sure the turkey is fully thawed before putting it in the pot.

According to the National Fire Protection Association: 5 deaths and more than $15 million in property damage is caused every year by turkeys being improperly deep fried.