SPRINGFIELD — Firefighter Chris Tarrant was in full gear, visor protecting his eyes, as he gingerly lowered the perforated cylinder, using a hooked stick, into a heated vat. Inside that cylinder was a 20 pound turkey, still completely frozen. In the vat are seven gallons of vegetable oil, heated to 400 degrees.
Springfield firefighters had just constructed the worst case scenario for a turkey fire on Thursday. The whole point was that people should not do this at home.
Here’s everything that was wrong: the turkey should be completely thawed and dry, it’s recommended fryer turkeys should be between 10 and 14 pounds, the vat in this instance was overfull of oil and that oil was too hot, creating vapors that are easier to ignite. The recommended temperature for turkey frying is 350 degrees.
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When Tarrant lowered the turkey, oil immediately spilled over the side of the fryer. In less than a second, those fumes ignited into a 15 foot tower of orange fire. The fire singed and melted the white vinyl siding in the prop like marshmallows over a campfire. The firefighters used water to extinguish the blaze, which stopped it for a short period but then created a flare up. It is recommended that home cooks in the turkey fryer fire scenario use the standard ABC fire extinguisher to avoid the flaring effect.
Springfield Fire Chief Michael Laramore hopes demonstrations like this encourage people to be careful frying turkeys this Thanksgiving. Lt. Dexter Payton said outdoor fires increase 80 percent in November, although that cannot all be attributed to turkey fryers.
“The best tool to prevent the loss of homes, property and life is public awareness,” Laramore said.
Tarrant was part of the crew that put out a fryer fire a couple of years ago in a different part of Bay County. Although no one was hurt, it tore up the person’s garage pretty good.
Laramore has experience extinguishing a much worse fire. After joining the Springfield department about 12 years ago, some people had moved a fryer into their garage because of a light drizzle. The subsequent fire was responsible for massive amounts of property damage.
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Other tips for people using a turkey fryer this Thanksgiving include — wear long sleeves and long pants and closed toed shoes, keep the fryer in an open, well-ventilated area and avoid any deck type spaces.
Local builder Jamey Holsombake donated the wall and decking for the staging area. While he said he wanted to support the fire department in any way possible, he added that he wanted to see it blow up.
Judging by the crowd that gathered in the field outside the former school the department uses for training, other residents felt the same way. Laramore is contemplating making the demonstration a seasonal regularity, potentially using a three-sided structure as a prop the next time.