WESTON, Conn (WPIX) – A home in Connecticut was destroyed over the Thanksgiving holiday due to a turkey frying mishap, local officials confirmed.
The home, located in Weston, caught fire Thursday afternoon after its residents attempted to fry the turkey in their garage, a preliminary investigation revealed.
No injuries were reported. But the home — which has an estimated value of over $4 million dollars, according to listing sites Redfin and Zillow — was quickly engulfed in flames.
“Firefighters attempted an aggressive fire attack however their efforts were thwarted by dangerous fire conditions and structural collapse,” the Weston Volunteer Fire Department wrote in a Facebook post.
Fire departments from the nearby towns of Westport, Wilton, Redding, West Redding, Georgetown, and Easton responded to the place. Crews battled the fire for over 16 hours, according to the Weston department.
The house — which features 11 bedrooms and 9.5 baths, per online listing data — has since been deemed “uninhabitable,” the department said.
Cooking fires increase threefold on Thanksgiving day, according to the National Fire Protection Agency, and actually spiked by 399% over the daily average in 2022. The U.S. Fire Administration, a division of FEMA, added that frying increases the risk of fires. When deep-frying a turkey, the agency warns never to cook within 10 feet of a structure or under any overhangs, among other guidelines.
Speaking with Nexstar’s WTNH, an official from the fire department in New Haven, Connecticut, offered another bit of advice.
“Frozen turkeys will explode when you put them into the oil,” Deputy Chief Lenny Wishart said. “So, if you’re deep frying it, make sure it’s fully thawed.”