HUDSON – The holiday season is almost here. It is a time when home cooking activities are at their peak. Unfortunately, all this cooking leads to a related peak in cooking fires, which are responsible for 49 percent of all home fires, according to the National Fire Protection Association.

“To help keep your holidays from, literally, going up in smoke, it’s critical to know and use safe cooking practices,” said SERVPRO President John Sooker.

According to the NFPA, Thanksgiving is the leading day of the year for home cooking fires, with more than three times the daily average for such incidents. The fire and water remediation specialists from SERVPRO in the Hudson area urge home cooks to take the following safety measures recommended by the NFPA to help prevent cooking fires:

-Keep your cooking area clean and keep anything that can burn (dish towels, oven mitts, packaging) at least three feet away from cooking equipment.

-Keep a close eye on what’s cooking, setting a timer to help you monitor foods with longer cooking times.

-Keep in mind that the leading contributing factor to cooking fires and to fire deaths overall is unattended cooking, so plan to be at home and in or near the kitchen at all times.

“For those who use a turkey fryer to cook their Thanksgiving bird, it’s important to note that more than two-thirds of home cooking fires begin with the ignition of cooking materials, including food, fat and grease,” said Sooker. “The NFPA strongly discourages the use of these fryers as they use large amounts of oil at high temperatures. If you do use one, follow all placement, use, and safety instructions carefully.”

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