The annual celebration of family and opportunity to give thanks usually includes a myriad of dishes, ranging from turkey to mashed potatoes and stuffing to pumpkin pie. 

But Thanksgiving, as well as Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, are peak home cooking fire days, according to the National Fire Protection Association. Cooking fires occur nearly four times more often on Thanksgiving than on any other day of the year. 

The leading cause of home structure fires and injuries, cooking fires have hit unprecedented highs in recent years. Fire departments around the United States responded to an estimated 1,730 cooking fires in 2014 alone. 

“The data suggests that it’s often a combination of factors that contribute to an increased risk of home cooking fires on Thanksgiving,” said Lorraine Carli, the vice president of Outreach and Advocacy of the NFPA. “People are preparing multiple dishes for many guests and there can be plenty of distraction in the home, which can make it all too easy to forget what’s on the stove. That’s when cooking mishaps are most likely to occur.”

The NFPA issued the following tips for reducing the risk of cooking fires for the holiday season:

Within the last five years, 166,100 home cooking fires have caused $1.1 billion in property damaged, claimed 480 lives and caused 5,540 injuries each year, according to the NFPA.

The NFPA also discourages using turkey fryers because the high temperatures can lead to devastating burns. Instead, the NFPA recommends purchasing deep-fried turkeys.

For more Thanksgiving tips and resources, visit the NFPA’s website: www.nfpa.org/public-education/by-topic/wildfire-and-seasonal-fires/thanksgiving-safety.

Cooking safety tips, videos and more can be found on the NFPA’s Cooking Fire Safety Central website: www.nfpa.org/public-education/by-topic/wildfire-and-seasonal-fires/thanksgiving-safety.org/cooking.