Vallejo firefighters offer Thanksgiving safety tips

Vallejo firefighters are encouraging families to be careful and stay alert in the kitchen this Thanksgiving.

Cooking is the leading cause of residential fires on Thanksgiving and most of those occur between noon and 4 p.m., fire officials said.

Firefighters encourage residents to carefully attend to cooking equipment and materials, keep flammable materials away from heat sources, read directions and be sure kitchen equipment is turned off when the cooking is done.

Firefighters are encouraging residents to avoid using turkey fryers, if possible, because of the danger they pose. Crews suggest buying a turkey from a grocery store, specialty food store or restaurant or cooking with a fryer that uses infrared heat.

If a fire starts, firefighters urge residents to go outside and call 911 rather than trying to put out the fire.