Thanksgiving Holiday is Historically One of the Worst for Home Fire Disasters

November is fire safety awareness month, but the Thanksgiving holiday historically marks one of the most dangerous times for fire.

Thanksgiving Holiday is historically one of the worst for home fire disasters according to statistics from fire departments across America, Thanksgiving is one of the least safe holidays when it comes to fire prevention. This year's fire reports show that dozens of home fires have already broken out in states nationwide since yesterday morning.

The National Fire Protection Association, an international scientific nonprofit focused on fire safety education and certification, tells us that in an average year in the United States between 2015 through 2020, there were 13 fire-related fatalities each day on average during months surrounding Thanksgiving. The organization also gives us a breakdown of fire fatalities nationally by day between 2019-2020.

Cooking Mishaps Can Range from Smoke Damage to Complete Home Fire Losses

Home fire damage ranges from smoke inhalation to total loss. At times it can be difficult to understand why one fire spreads so quickly, while another fire burns cleanly in the oven or stovetop. It is extremely important to understand the fire triangle. The fire triangle consists of three components: heat, fuel, and oxygen. If you prevent any one of these three elements from existing, then the fire will not burn.

According to statistics, most home fires occur due to cooking-related mishaps around Thanksgiving time. This includes both residential homes and hotels that are filled with people for holiday getaways. The biggest fire threat comes when homeowners try adjusting their oven temperatures manually instead of using automatic controls. For example, some may turn down the burner lower hoping to reduce fire hazards, but this could cause the fire to spread beneath the surface because it has been starved of oxygen. The best course of action is to allow automatic controls do their job and just use a fire-safe cooking method that eliminates flames or fire from being present during preparation.

It's also important that homeowners not overload electrical outlets with too much power for any given time frame. This can be a fire hazard as well, especially when people plug in all kinds of devices into each wall outlet around Thanksgiving. Some electrical fires may be caused by faulty wiring or loose connections. In homes where there are older wooden wiring systems, fire damage happens more frequently due to overheating wires and breakage inside walls and ceilings from fire rushing through the structure. It is important that homeowners check their fire extinguishers and smoke alarms to ensure they are operational. In the event of a fire, it's extremely important to be prepared.

Professional Restoration Companies Often Experience Demand Surges on Holidays and Holiday Weekends

All fire damage is very serious, but fires around Thanksgiving are especially catastrophic when fire damage spreads over multiple rooms in homes. Thanksgiving fire emergencies can result in smoke inhalation and irreparable fire damage that ruin homes. Repairing fire damage is not an easy task for homeowners to take on without professional help in some cases.

Professional restoration companies in the United States often experience demand surges this time of year due to increased fire hazards around Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years Day, and sometimes during President's day weekend because more people are away from their homes than usual. This increases the chances of cooking-related fires at home or hotel fires that start out with something as simple as candle usage or fireplace ashes that end up spreading into neighboring rooms.