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1 cooking-related fire reported in Las Vegas on Thanksgiving

Updated November 23, 2018 - 3:10 pm

Only one cooking-related fire was reported in Las Vegas on Thanksgiving Day, according to the Las Vegas Fire Department.

“This has been the best year so far,” spokesman Tim Szymanski said.

The call came just after noon for reports of turkey drippings that had caught fire inside an oven. Szymanski said crews found smoke inside the home, but no one was injured.

He said the department responded to just three cooking-related incidents involving food burning in the oven last year, and no one was displaced.

“The year before that, it was the same way,” Szymanski said. “Usually, on Thanksgiving, there are three times as many cooking fires than any other time.”

He said the department received 246 calls for service on Thursday, including 14 total fire-related calls. Most were calls for emergency medical services.

In a tweet Thursday, the department called it a “non-eventful” day.

“We’re always prepared because during the holidays is when people have those incidents,” Szymanski said. “But I think social media played a big part in preventing fires. There’s a lot of awareness — drilling it into people’s minds to be extra careful. If you’re out teaching the public and you keep bringing it up, they want to be safe.”

In a tweet posted Thursday, the department also shared turkey fryer safety tips:

— Make sure the turkey is completely thawed and dry.

— The fryer should be kept at least 10 feet from structures or fences.

— Keep children and pets away from the fryer.

— Never use a turkey fryer inside any building, in a garage or on a wooden deck.

Contact Mia Sims at msims@reviewjournal.com. Follow @miasims___ on Twitter. Review-Journal staff writer Rio Lacanlale contributed to this report.

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