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Thanksgiving Day Safety Tips: Avoid Cooking Fires

By Britt Moreno

DENVER (CBS4) - Before you start baking pies or whipping up that turkey, know this: Thanksgiving is the leading day for home fires involving cooking equipment.

Thanksgiving Turkey Cooking
Photo Credit Thinkstock

"Thanksgiving is a busy time. It's always more chaotic at home. Multiple people have family members and the most important thing to keep in mind is to really concentrate on the cooking," said Darcy Martin, director of injury prevention at Swedish Medical Center. She spoke with CBS4's morning anchor Britt Moreno live on CBS4 This Morning.

Darcy recommends always having someone watch the stove top and making sure handles to pans or pots are turned toward the back of the stove, so that people passing by wont knock it and spill.

She recommends keeping elderly people out of the kitchen and of course keeping an eye on children.

"Little kids should really stay out of the kitchen. They can play elsewhere or play games. Give them another project," said Martin.

Other tips include:

*Stay in the home when cooking your turkey and check on it frequently.

*Keep floor clean so people don't trip

*Keep knives out of reach of kids

*Be sure electric cords are not dangling over counter

*Keep Matches and utility lighters out of the reach of children, up high in a locked cabinet.

*Never leave children alone in room with a lit candle

*Make sure smoke alarms are working

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at CBS4!

Britt Moreno anchors the CBS4 morning and noon newscasts and is the Wednesday's Child reporter. She loves hearing from viewers. Connect with her on Facebook or Twitter @brittmorenotv.

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