Stay Safe Frying Your Thanksgiving Turkey

Thanksgiving means lots of cooking. And lots of cooking means there's more opportunity for a fire.

According to State Farm, more cooking fires occur on Thanksgiving than any other day of the year, according to State Farm.

South Carolina comes in at No. 10 on the top 10 states for grease and cooking-related claims on Thanksgiving Day for the past five years.

Other states named to the list: Texas, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Florida, California, Louisiana, Pennsylvania and Minnesota.

One of the biggest culprits: Frying Turkey.

Again, State Farm has teamed up with William Shatner to spread the word about turkey frying safety. In this year's video, Captain Kirk sings about how to stay safe while cooking a "moister, tastier turkey" in “Eat, Fry, Love: A Cautionary Tale.”

Here are some tips from State Farm:

• More than one-third of fires involving a fryer start in a garage or patio. Cook outdoors at a safe distance from any buildings or trees and keep the fryer off any wooden structures, such as a deck or patio.
• Avoid a hot oil spill over by first filling the pot with cold oil and then lower the thawed turkey into the pot to determine how much oil should be either added or removed.
• Shut off the fuel source or flame when adding the turkey to the hot oil to prevent a dangerous flare-up if oil does spill over the rim.
• Make sure your turkey is properly thawed before lowering it slowly into the pot.
• Never leave a hot turkey fryer unattended.
• Do not use ice or water to cool down oil or extinguish an oil fire.
• Keep an extinguisher approved for cooking or grease fire nearby.