For emergency workers, the Thanksgiving holiday raises their concerns about deep-fried turkeys, heavy traffic and fire hazards.

One of the biggest concerns for firefighters during Thanksgiving is the increasing number of people who deep-fry turkeys.

There have been only a few incidents locally, but because of the large amount of hot oil needed, the cooking technique is very dangerous, said Marlee Boenig, spokeswoman for the Bowling Green Fire Department.

“It’s risky anytime you fry something because of the hot oil, but turkeys require a large amount of oil,” she said. “Also, typically there are no thermostats or safety devices with those fryers.

“Deep fried turkey is great, but there is a lot of risk to using these things,” she said.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports the majority of turkey fryer incidents occur while oil is being heated.

Some tips from the commission can help reduce the fire and burn dangers associated with turkey fryers: Use turkey fryers outdoors away from buildings or material that can catch fire and in full view. Make sure there is at least two feet of space between the liquid propane tank and fryer burner. Keep children away from the fryer while hot. Never place the fryer on wooden decks or under a garage, carport or breezeway.

Also, make sure the turkey is completely thawed - water and ice crystals can lead to oil splatter and spillover.

Deep frying turkeys, however, is one of a few potentially dangerous activities that are done around the Thanksgiving holiday.

A lot of people put up Christmas trees and lights on or just after Thanksgiving, said Craig Peay, chief of the Gott Volunteer Fire Department.

“Four of the past five years we’ve had a fire on Christmas Day because of overloaded circuits,” he said.

Each year the county has two or three fires that occur because of Christmas lights overloading circuits, Peay said. Light wires can just continue to get hotter and hotter until they ignite and if conditions are dry, older roof shingles can ignite fairly easily.

“We’ve already seen a few houses that have their Christmas lights up,” he said.

Traffic also is expected to be a concern. The Bowling Green Police Department is reminding drivers to be careful during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, which is the most traveled weekend of the year, said Officer Barry Pruitt, spokesman for the department.

“Drive with care for yourself and others,” he said.

The department will be out during the weekend conducting traffic duty, he said.

Drivers really need to be careful with the additional traffic that will be on interstate highways, said Trooper Todd Holder, spokesman for Kentucky State Police.

“There will be a lot of people on the road who aren’t used to taking long drives who will be out on the road for several hours,” he said. “People need to look out for sleepy or inattentive drivers.”

In addition, people need to plan ahead for their trip and make sure to leave themselves enough time to arrive, Holder said. When people start running late for events they begin driving faster, increasing the risk of a serious crash.