KOTA Territory NewsHoliday cooking safety

Holiday cooking safety

Rachael Embler

When families get together for the holidays it means busy kitchens and consequently dangerous ones.

 So when you're cooking that fat fried turkey, or triple glazed ham this Thanksgiving, Rapid City firefighters want you know how to stay safe.

 "One of our concerns is the fact that there is more cooking going on, people may not be quite as attentive to things because they have family and friends around so they just need to be careful and follow those general rules of safety when it comes to cooking," said Captain Mark Kirchgesler.

 He said wearing loose clothing is a big no–no when it comes to cooking.

 "Watch what you heat": unattended cooking is a major cause of fires around the holidays.

 Make sure to keep things like potholders, oven mitts, paper or plastic away from the stove. They can catch fire.

 Captain Kirchgesler said it's a good idea to keep children out of the kitchen when cooking for the holidays to protect them from burns and scalding.