William Shatner Issues Serious Thanksgiving Turkey Warning (VIDEO)
“Star Trek” star William Shatner has released a video warning viewers about the dangers of deep frying turkey ahead of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.
The popular holiday trend of deep-frying a turkey instead of roasting has seen hundreds of houses burned to the ground in the past, and State Farm Insurance tapped Shatner to issue a special public service announcement this Thanksgiving.
The insurance company says Shatner, best known as Capt. Kirk from the television original version of “Star Trek,” brings comedy along with the serious message.
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In the video, available on State Farm’s YouTube channel, Shatner demonstrates a dramatic accident involving a turkey fryer.
The tips for consumers who want to deep-fry their Thanksgiving turkey this year include these tips: conduct the frying outside; far from buildings and trees; avoid oil spills by first filling the pot with cold oil; and lower the thawed turkey into the pot to measure how much oil you will need.
Watch the video here.
Grease fires caused by improper use of deep fryers during Thanksgiving preparations accounted for 15 homes in the U.S. burning to the ground last year alone.
According to the U.S. Fire Administration, about 4,300 Thanksgiving Day fired have occurred each year between 2006-2008, resulting in 10 deaths and 50 injuries. State Farm said deep-fryer fires number 1,000 a year, and that grease and cooking-related claims more than double on Thanksgiving as opposed to any other day in November.
State Farm ranked the top 10 states to report grease and cooking fires on Thanksgiving day from 2005-2009, with Texas being the number one state with 33 fires during that period. States rated from number two to 10 are as follows: Illinois, 22 fires; Ohio, 18; Michigan, 15; New York, 15; Pennsylvania, 12; Indiana, 11; Missouri, 10; and South Carolina, 10.
