Avoid Turkey Day Fires - kcentv.com - KCEN HD - Waco, Temple, and Killeen

It takes only a matter of minutes for a small fire to spread through an entire house. Fires double in size every minute.

And most of them start in the kitchen. Where food and family will gather for the holidays. 

But emergencies can be avoided, especially if you keep watch over your food while it cooks.

"That is the number one rule if people can remember they can prevent a house fire from starting," said Thomas Pechal with the Temple Fire Dept.

Pechal keeps remnants - charred pots - from past cooking fires to help teach others how quickly the holidays can heat up.

"Both of them resulting in families being displaced from their home," he said.

This Thanksgiving he suggests a three-foot kid-free zone around the main fire-starter: the stove.

"If the handle is sticking out they could pull the handle down, they could dump a pan and receive a painful burn," said Pechal.

For a small stove fire there's a simple fix.

"The best thing to do is take a lid, or a cookie sheet if you don't have a lid, simple slide the lid over the pan, turn the burner off and then step back," said Pechal.

But you may find yourself tackling something bigger. So Pechal heats a bucket up to help demonstrate what everyone should know: how to use a fire extinguisher.

If you do need to put out a fire just remember "PASS." Pull the pin out of the extinguisher, aim, squeeze and sweep over the fire location.

If you don't own an extinguisher, you can buy one for cheap from hardware or big box stores.

That way you can enjoy time around the table, instead of picking up it's charred remains.