Keep Your Home Safe From Holiday Fires!

Thanksgiving is right around the corner! Most of us associate Thanksgiving Day as a holiday that we spend time with family and friends, watch football, and eat a ton of food! What most people don't know is that Thanksgiving is the peak day of the year for home fires; followed by Christmas Day, the day before Thanksgiving Day, Easter, and Christmas Eve. In 2018, U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated 1,630 home cooking fires on Thanksgiving; that is more than two and a half times the daily average!

There are many steps homeowners can take to keep their kitchen, home, and guests safe while a meal is being prepared, here's a few tips:

Test your smoke alarms prior to Thanksgiving; make sure all are in working order

Have a working fire extinguisher in your kitchen or close by

Stay in the kitchen when food is cooking; this allows you to notice a fire sooner rather than later (the leading cause of kitchen fires is unattended cooking)

Be watchful of what you set near your stove top; i.e., don't set oven mitts, towels, or other flammable items close to an open flame

Try to keep kids out of the kitchen. Kids try their best to be helpful, but they can cause dangerous accidents from lack of knowledge and experience

If frying a turkey, keep the fryer away from the home. Don't put the fryer in a garage or on a deck; place it as far away from the house as possible

We hope these tips help keep your kitchen the heart of your home this holiday season!

From the Colorado Insurance Benefits family to you: We hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoy your time with family and friends!

For additional Thanksgiving fire safety tips click here.

Pumpkin Cocktail Recipe

Are you in charge of drinks this Thanksgiving? Try this creative recipe; it will be a hit!

Get the Recipe Here

National Drowsy Driving Prevention Week - November 7-13, 2021

The National Sleep Foundation holds Drowsy Driving Prevention Week (DDPW) each year the week following the end of Daylight Saving Time. The goal of this annual campaign is to reduce the number of drivers who drive while sleep deprived. Drowsy driving is responsible for more than 6,400 U.S. deaths annually. Fall-asleep crashes are often caused by voluntarily not getting the sleep you need. NSF encourages everyone to prioritize sleep and drive when alert and refreshed.