The kitchen gets busy during the holidays, and Thanksgiving Day is the peak day for U.S. home cooking fires — with more than three times the daily average, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).

Unattended cooking is the leading cause of Thanksgiving fires, though overloaded circuits are also a hazard. Most kitchen appliances draw a sizeable amount of electricity from 120-volt circuits. For example, typical roaster ovens draw 10–12 amps, hot plates draw 8–12 amps, and slow cookers draw 2–6 amps.

“Kitchen 120-volt circuits are required (by NFPA 70®, National Electrical Code®) to be 20-amp rated, so it would only take a couple of these appliances to overload the maximum circuit ampacity,” said NFPA Senior Electrical Content Specialist Corey Hannahs.

Overloaded circuits will trip circuit breakers, but can also damage the components being utilized. Here are a few tips to stay safe from NFPA:

• Determine which kitchen plugs are on what circuit, then split the appliances up accordingly to balance the total load being imposed.
• Avoid using extension cords and multi-outlet splitters in the kitchen. Not only is an extension cord a tripping hazard, it could be overloaded without the circuit breaker ever tripping, creating a fire hazard.
• The National Electric Code requires that any receptacles that are installed to serve the kitchen countertop have ground-fault circuit-interrupter (GFCI) protection. That may not be the case for an adjacent room where an extension cord could get plugged in and routed to the kitchen for extra power.
• Turkey fryers that use cooking oil are not safe. If you want a fried turkey for your Thanksgiving meal, purchase it from a grocery store, restaurant or use a fryer that does not use oil.