Fire departments urging families to be safe while cooking this holiday season

TULARE COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- As millions of families across the state gather to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday- the Tulare County Fire Department wants to ensure people are being safe, especially when cooking.

Their department is fully staffed on this holiday with over three dozen firefighters ready to go, but fire captain, Francisco Benitez, says some fires are preventable.

In the last week, Tulare County Fire says they have been called to at least four stove fires.

"I would say half of the fires if not more are preventable like I say this time of year we're deep frying turkey, or cooking turkeys in the house and grease and oil becomes a problem and all that is preventable as long as we are vigilant on what we're doing," says Captain Benitez.

Captain Benitez says it's important to have a fire extinguisher nearby.

Having a working smoke detector is also a must, because fire alarms help firefighters arrive at a scene even quicker.

"That's our first alert obviously when the smoke detector goes off and if it isn't the battery. So I've been to three structure fires in the last week and not one has had working smoke detectors," explains Captain Benitez..

And when you're cooking- never leave anything unattended.

"We've all worked in the kitchen cooking and we turned around for a second to take care of the kids or change the TV channel and for a split second oil can boil over and start a fire.," mentions Captain Benitez.

The Tulare County Fire Department also says checking in on your elderly family members and neighbors is a good idea.

Especially as the colder months are fast approaching.

"Year-round I would encourage families to check in on their elderly relatives to make sure they have a working fire extinguisher and smoke detector," says Captain Benitez.

Tulare County fire firefighters also mention if you need help with your smoke detectors you can contact your local fire department and they will be happy to help you free of charge.

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