By Doug Bardwell, American Red Cross volunteer

Been there. Done that. And from experience, I can tell you it wasn’t pleasant.

Yes, we had an oven fire…

And our bird was toast – literally…

And our kitchen was full of smoke…

And family was arriving.

The smoke alarm was annoyingly loud. Everyone wanted to know the story of how it happened, but secretly, they wanted the turkey, which wasn’t to be that year.

So, what lessons were learned?

To feed a family this size, we needed a big bird, and our mistake was putting a giant bird in too small of a pan. The legs overlapped the sides of the pan, and grease dripped onto the lower burners, which must have started burning almost immediately. When we noticed it, the entire oven was smoke and flame- filled.

To our credit, we had a charged and ready home fire extinguisher outside the kitchen door. That was fortunate, because the flames in the oven precluded reaching in and removing the pan with the turkey until the fire was out.

Also, we had enough side dishes to have a glorious feast still…once the smoke cleared. We averted a tragedy. And, we use larger pans now.

We didn’t adhere to Rule Number One in this Red Cross Thanksgiving cooking tips list – Don’t be like us.

Every eight minutes, donations to the Red Cross help someone affected by a disaster—most often, home fires. You can help save lives by making a financial donation to support our mission, signing up to become a volunteer, or taking steps to protect your family from home fires. Visit redcross.org to learn more.

Edited by Glenda Bogar, American Red Cross volunteer

Posted by Ryan Lang, American Red Cross board member and volunteer