Deep-frying turkey likely sparked fire that left Massachusetts woman seriously injured, three homes destroyed
A huge Thanksgiving Day blaze that completely destroyed three Massachusetts homes and left at least one woman injured was likely sparked by a deep-frying turkey.
Residents of a New Bedford neighborhood on Thursday heard an explosion around 9:45 a.m., which was immediately followed by clouds of smoke and flames, CBS Boston reported. The blaze quickly ripped through three residences in the community, displacing a total of 27 people.
Major fire in New Bedford damages multiple residential buildings. Heavy smoke in the area as fire crews douse the flames from above. Working to gather details on the cause. #WBZ pic.twitter.com/8KyzagwbdP
— Nick Emmons WBZ (@NickEmmonsTV) November 26, 2020
Maui Carvalho, among the dozens who saw their homes destroyed, said the fire started on her neighbor’s back deck as he tried to deep fry a turkey.
“He says he was cooking the deep-fried turkey and the propane tank exploded,”she recalled. “I heard the explosion, but I thought it was thunder.”
Acting New Bedford Fire Chief Scott Kruger said the cause of the blaze remained under investigation but that it appeared to be “a cooking mishap involving deep frying.”
At least one woman was seriously injured in the fiery blast. Authorities said they will question her as she continues to recover in an effort to uncover the source of the flames.
“This may well be a reminder of the perils of frying a turkey,” Jon Mitchell, New Bedford’s mayor said. “This is not the first time this has happened — not just here but in many place across the country.”
While deep-fried turkeys have become popular for the holiday in recent years, experts have repeatedly warned the labor-intensive method can actually be quite dangerous. The process includes submerging the bird in at least three to five gallons of hot oil, which is already risky.
One of the most common reasons for explosions is the combining of cold water and hot oil, which inherently do not mix.
“So, when the ice from a frozen turkey meets a vat of hot oil, it instantly changes to steam and expands to 1,700 times its original volume,” according to howstuffworks.com. “This can cause the oil to bubble over and if an oil particle makes contact with a flame — boom — you’re in trouble.”
