Don’t let Thanksgiving go up in flames

>>> just a couple of days most americans will be cooking their thanksgiving turkey . did you know more cooking fires occur on thanksgiving than any other day of the year, many involving turkey deep fryers . nbc's tom costello is at the montgomery county fire academy in rockville, maryland. it sounds like difficult news.

>> reporter: matt, good morning to you. we'll show you a classic mistake people make this time of year, take a turkey , frozen turkey and dip it into a pot of overflowing boiling water and the concern is that very quickly that can create a fire, a flame over, pose a risk not only to your house but also to anybody who is nearby. it's happening more and more every year. as those deep turkey fryers become more popular, they also mean more serious accidents. more than 1,000 house fires etch year and serious injuries.

>> i'm william schatner and i love fried turkey .

>> reporter: william schatner, who suffered burns in a turkey fryer accident teamed up with state farm in a series of public safety ads, some kind of hokey, recreating his own accident.

>> oh! what have i done? oh, ow, ow, ow! i've burned myself, almost burned my house down. it's a great taste but you got to be safe.

>> reporter: the top safety tips for deep turkey fryers, thaw the turkey before you put it in the oil. if it's frozen the ice can cause hot bubbling oil to flash over. don't overfill the pot with oil before putting the turkey in. that can also cause a flash fire . turn the flame off before you put the turkey in, use the fryer outside, away from the house or porch, and keep the right kind of fryer extinguisher handy. underwriters laboratory has been warning about turkey fryers for years.

>> another one of our safety concerns with deep fat turkey fryers is their lack of stability. watch how easy it is to tip it over. unintended cooking is the leading cause of fires in the home so having a turkey fryer is no different.

>> reporter: i may have said boiling water , obviously i meant boiling oil . chief richard bowers is here from montgomery county fire rescue . what's the biggest risk for the turkey fryers this time of year?

>> tom the biggest risk is people put the turkey fryers too close to a structure or they get too close themselves and get burned. we've had too many fires nationwide and too many people hurt.

>> reporter: you're supposed to have a fire extinguisher nearby.

>> the best to have is an abc or dry chemical extinguisher, takes care of any class of fire specifically this type of fire.

>> reporter: don't mess with this stuff.

>> no, sir.

>> reporter: great turkey , tastes great but be safe.

>> fry your turkey , not your house.

>> reporter: thank you, chief. matt back to you.

>> tom costello, thank you as