- December 5, 2025
The Palm Coast Fire Department demonstrates what not to do when deep frying a turkey. While the turkey didn't catch fire, the oil overflowed, which can easily happen at home if there's too much oil in the pot. Photo by Paige Wilson
Fire Chief Mike Beadle tells media the correct way to deep fry a turkey for the holidays. Photo by Paige Wilson
Firefighters regroup after the first attempt to have the turkey engulfed in flames failed. Photo by Paige Wilson
The second attempt to set the turkey on fire failed, as the wind kept knocking the flame out, preventing the oil from getting hot enough. But it still overflowed, showing the danger of overfilling the pot. Photo by Paige Wilson
Even though the two attempts by the Palm Coast Fire Department to light a turkey on fire from a hot pot of oil failed due to wind stopping the pilot flame, the message was still a success: Safety is key.
To help the community have a safe Thanksgiving, the fire department demonstrated how to correctly deep fry a turkey, along with what not to do, on Monday, Nov. 20, at Fire Station 25.
Fire Chief Mike Beadle said the biggest mistake people make when trying this holiday trend is filling the pot with too much oil, which then causes the boiling liquid to overflow when the turkey gets dunked.
"The best practice is to put the bird in the container, fill it up with water just to cover it, make a mark, take it out, dry it all out before you go to actually do the frying, then you go and do it on Thanksgiving day," Chief Beadle said.
The number of residential fires more than doubles on Thanksgiving Day, with most fires being caused by cooking and occurring between noon and 3 p.m., according to a Palm Coast press release.
For more information, contact the Palm Coast Fire Department at 986-2300.
