AUGUSTA, Ga. - Thanksgiving is a time for family, fun and food, but unfortunately, it's also one of the busiest times for hospital burn centers.

With all of the cooking and running in and out of the kitchen, severe burns don't just increase, they jump. Hospitals see five times as many burn victims during this time of the year.

Come Thanksgiving, hospital rooms are likely to be filled with burn victims with fresh cooking injuries. The biggest culprit is often turkey fryers.

At Joseph M. Still Burn Center at Doctors Hospital, Dr. Fred Mullins says he's seen as much as a 500 percent increase in burn patients over the holidays.

"Thanksgiving is probably one of the biggest holidays and one of the primary factors are the grease fires and the turkey fryers where you have a large pot of hot grease," says Dr. Mullins, a burn specialist.

For turkey cooking, most instructions call to heat the grease to 350 degrees and when hot grease gets on someone, it can be hard to get off, leaving deep burns.

"If you're not careful or consuming alcohol while you're cooking, you can actually knock [the grease pot] over,” said Dr. Mullins. “I've seen some 60 to 80 percent burns come from turkey fryers."

Turkey fryers also keep the Richmond County Fire Department busy during the holiday.

"We had one a year ago where someone was cooking a turkey on their deck,” recalls Richmond County Fire Investigator Lt. Carlton Bradley. “What happened when they put the turkey in the container was that it spilled over grease on to the wood deck and it caught the deck on fire, burning the back end of the house off."

If you're going to be frying that bird this Thanksgiving, make sure you take the proper precautions.

Here is a list of safety tips every family should know on Thanksgiving:

-If you do get a grease burn, one simple thing doctors recommend is to run it under cool water instead of using ice.

-Keep fryer in full view while burner is on.

-Place fryer in an open area away from all walls, fences, or other structures.

- Never use a fryer in, on, or under a garage, breezeway, carport, porch, or any structure that can catch fire.

-Cover your bare skin when adding or removing food.

-Check the oil temperature frequently.

-If oil begins to smoke, immediately turn gas supply off.

-If a fire occurs, immediately call 911.

-Do not attempt to extinguish fire with water.

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