News 12 at 6 o'clock / Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2012

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Burn doctors expect to see an increase in patients over the Thanksgiving holiday. They say most of the accidents take place while families are cooking their turkey dinners.

"It honestly looked like a movie. Like a bonfire in my kitchen," said Corey Holeman, who suffered third-degree burns after a pan of oil exploded in his kitchen. "Hands down, it was a pain that I wouldn't anyone to ever feel -- not even my worst enemy. It's bad, real bad."

"Be careful this time of year. We see a surge in the number of burns we get especially the day before and the day of Thanksgiving," said Dr. Fred Mullins with Joseph M. Still Burn Center.

Mullins says patient volume will increase at least 15 percent over the holiday.

"A quite a bit of it comes from frying turkeys," Mullins warned.

He says many of the burns happen when the fryer explodes. The explosion occurs when people try to fry a frozen turkey.

"Make sure the area they are cooking in is well ventilated and not inside and make sure they have barriers put up so people can't walk up. And avoid alcohol," Mullins said.

At the WifeSaver in Evans, cooks will fry up at least 200 birds over the next two days. They say the key to safety is never leaving the fryers unattended.

"Distraction can lead to a lot of mishaps," Holeman said.

It's very important to keep small children of the kitchen, too. In just a blink of an eye, your little one could grab a hot pot. Speaking of pots ... keep all the handles turned toward the back of the stove away from little hands.

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