Electric Deep Fryers
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Kitchen Cooking Appliances · CPSC Code 219
Down 42% over 5 years
The verdict
Electric Deep Fryers carry a danger score of 33/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 850 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 42% over the last five years.
- 33/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 850
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 12.3%
- end in hospital admission
- 25-34
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 219 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 33/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for electric deep fryers - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume850 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)12.3%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend-42%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Electric Deep Fryers (CPSC product code 219, in the Kitchen Cooking Appliances category) generate an estimated 850 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 17,006 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 33/100 for this category (low risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are declining by about 42% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2014 (1,964 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2022 (366 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for electric deep fryers is burn, scald to the hand, accounting for approximately 3,205 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by burn, scald to the lower arm (2,708 cases). The 25-34 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 4,099 cases over the NEISS window, and males appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 12.3% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 50 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how electric deep fryers fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2024-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 1,178 | 262 | |
| 5-14 | 675 | 271 | |
| 15-24 | 1,514 | 1,235 | |
| 25-34 | 2,499 | 1,600 | |
| 35-44 | 1,754 | 1,753 | |
| 45-54 | 1,092 | 821 | |
| 55-64 | 513 | 871 | |
| 65-74 | 322 | 525 | |
| 75+ | 123 | 0 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Hand | Burn, Scald | |
| Lower Arm | Burn, Scald | |
| Hand | Burns, Thermal | |
| Foot | Burn, Scald | |
| Face | Burn, Scald | |
| Finger | Burn, Scald | |
| Finger | Laceration | |
| Lower Leg | Burn, Scald | |
| Upper Trunk | Burn, Scald | |
| Lower Arm | Burns, Thermal | |
| Eyeball | Burn, Scald | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Lower Trunk | Strain, Sprain | |
| Elbow | Burns, Thermal | |
| Face | Burns, Thermal |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
31YOM DEEP FRYER TURNED OVER AND OIL SPLAHED ON BACK OF BOTH LEGSDX BURN LEGS
45 YOF CLEANING HOT ELECTRIC DEEP FRYER BURNED HAND DX THERMAL BURN HAND
51YOM PRESENTS AFTER GETTING HOT GREASE FROM A FRYER ON HIS LEFT FOREARM CAUSING A SECOND DEGREE BURN TO HIS LEFT FOREARM DX: SUPERFICIAL SECOND DEGREE BURN OF LEFT FOREARM
16YOM PRESENTS WITH A HAND INJURY. HE WAS CLEANING A DEEP FRYER WHEN HE ACCIDENTALLY TOUCHED THE HOT OIL. DX: SECOND DEGREE BURN OF MULTIPLE FINGERS OF LEFT HAND NOT INCLUDING THUMB
46YOF BURNED MULTIPLE FINGERS ON GREASE WHILE DEEP FRYING FOOD, DX BURN FINGERS
43 YOM WAS USING A DEEP FRYER WITH A BASKET WHEN THE OIL CAUGHT FIRE AND THE BASKET DROPPED SPLASHING HIS RIGHT HAND, LEFT LOWER LEG AND FOOT. FD NS. DX: PARTIAL THICKNESS BURN BACK OF RIGHT HAND, PARTIAL THICKNESS BURN OF RIGHT ANKLE, FULL THICKNESS BURN OF LEFT ANKLE
51YOM PT HAD HOT OIL SPLASH ON RT FOREARM, FROM A DEEP FRYER WHILE COOKING TURKEY DX: 2ND DEGREE BURN TO ARM
17YOM TO ER FOR EVAL OF BURNS ON RIGHT HAND 7 DAYS AGO, PARENTS SERVE AS HX, HOT OIL FROM A DEEP FRYER SPLASHED ON PTS RIGHT HAND, PARENTS SAY BURNS DIDNT LOOK BAD UNTIL A FEW DAYS AGO DX BURN
78YOM PRESENTS WITH BURNS TO HIS SHOULDER, HANDS, AND KNEES AFTER OIL FROM A FRYER EXPLODED WHILE HE WAS GROCERY SHOPPING. DX: BURNS TO SHOULDER, HANDS, KNEES
17 YOF WAS DROPPING FRIES INTO A FRYER AND HOT GREASE SPLATTERED ON HER. DX: LEFT HAND BURN
64 YOM SPLASHED HOT GREASE FROM A FRYER ON HIS ARM AND HAND. DX: RIGHT HAND BURN, RIGHT FOREARM BURN.
15MOF WAS AT HOME WHILE DAD WAS COOKING FRIED CHICKEN IN HOT OIL. THE OIL WAS COOLING BUT STILL HOT WHEN PT PULLED ON THE CORD OF DEEP FRYER AND THE OIL DROPPED ON HER FEET. DX: SUPERFICIAL PARTIAL THICKNESS SCALD BURN TO BILATERAL TOP OF FEET AND R ANKLE
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
On Monday, September 2, 2024 a business in my city posted a picture on [REDACTED] of a fire they had. The business did not call the fire dept. We found out about the fire because the next day, Tuesday, September 3, 2024 we witnessed their semi-annual kitchen hood test & inspection. Our Battalion Chief that witnessed the inspection looked up the business on [REDACTED] and found the picture. The Battalion Chief reported the fire to me. On Wednesday, September 4, 2024 I spoke with the business owner about their fire. [REDACTED], owner of [REDACTED], told me that the oil in the electric fryer started to boil. The fryer was set at 300 degrees Fahrenheit. [REDACTED] stated that her husband [REDACTED] reached over the fryer to turn the knob to off. [REDACTED] stated that the temperature and off knob just spun and did not turn off the fryer. [REDACTED] stated that her husband then unplugged the fryer and that is when the oil caught fire. [REDACTED] used an ABC fire extinguisher to put the fire out.
I was cooking french fries in my air fryer. It was set at 370 degrees. Left the room for a moment came back in and smoke was coming from the bottom and back. I had previously cooked chicken nuggets in it with no problem. Unplugged it and took it outside.
On September 7th, 2015 I purchased a Waring Pro electric deep fryer, model # DF280, through Amazon. After using the fryer twice over the past few days I decided to clean it yesterday. Following the manufacturers instructions I took it apart, drained the oil into a used oil container, and placed the lid, oil tank, and large frying basket with attached handle into my dishwasher. The basket and handle went on the top rack, the other parts went on the bottom rack. The dishwasher was then run on a regular cycle. Later that evening, in preparation for making chicken cutlets for dinner, I reassembled the fryer, filled it with oil and set it to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. When the oil was ready I took the large fryer basket from the top rack of the dishwasher and placed it into the hot oil. Immediately water started pouring out of the handle (which later examination showed to be two-pieces screwed together and hollow) with much of it going directly into the hot oil. This caused an oil explosion, splattering me and my kitchen with hot oil. Fortunately I had the lid handy, and was able to use it as a shield to approach and then cover the spattering oil, then get the unit unplugged. I received several 1st and 2nd degree burns to my arms and hands when this happened, my counter tops were a mess and dinner was ruined.
(08/31/2014) The consumer stated that he was preparing to use the deep fryer . He picked up the basket and the handle to the basket fell into two pieces. There was hot oil in the fryer but no one was injured. The consumer stated that he rarely uses the deep fryer. (09/5/2014) The consumer sent an email to the manufacturer. He received a response on 9/6 apologizing for the inconvenience.
Base falls off/comes unglued without warning. It's happen on 2 so far. Only used a couple times. Exposing wiring and element. Was full of grease. No one injured.
Wiring on deep fryer burned
The consumer has owned two 6-1/2 quarts, fish fryers that were made by this same manufacturer, which also had the same exact malfunction. The manufacturer replaced those two, but the consumer did not have model/serial information on them. 12/2020: The consumer got the first 6-1/2 quart fish fryer. 7/2021: The first time he used the fryer, the regulator began to show signs of frost. Within 5 minutes a large amount gas came though the regulator and fire balls shot out the burners. This happen several times within a few seconds. The consumer quickly turned off the gas. 7/2021: The consumer called the firm and their rep. advised him to return it to the dealer for a replacement. He took it back to the dealer and they provided him with an identical fryer. 7/2021: The very first time he used the 2nd fryer, the exact same problem occurred. The regulator became frosted within 5 minutes and fire balls started shooting from the burner within seconds. There was no property damage with the first 2 fryers. 8/2021: The consumer called the manufacturer and reported the issue with this 2nd fryer. Their rep. advised him to take it back to the dealer for an exchange or a refund. The consumer took it back to the dealer and paid a little over $20 for a larger fryer (10-1/2 quart). The very first time he used this 3rd fryer, the regulator began to frost up within 1 minute and fire balls began shooting from the burner. The consumer quickly turned it off. He said that the compressed air pipe, next to the ceiling in my shop, is made of PVC and it blew up, as it got heated. However, he also took pictures and made a video of the incident. The consumer was using all 3 fryers indoors, but they are recommended to be used outdoors. 8/2020: The consumer called the firm about this 3rd fryer. 8/17/2021: The firms rep. returned the consumers call and offered to send a replacement regulator, which had been tested. The rep. also requested hi
Iba a usar el producto adecuadamente por primera vez segun el manual de instrucciones. Causo explosiones botando el ingrediente anadido (aceite de cocina), lo cual es peligroso en cualquier lugar, ya que recibi quemaduras en mi cuerpo. CPSC Translation: I was going to use the product for the first time, in an appropriate manner and following the instructions manual. It exploded several times releasing the ingredient added (cooking oil). This is dangerous anywhere as it burned my body.
Showing 8 of 50 reports.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to electric deep fryers on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are electric deep fryers?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, electric deep fryers have a danger score of 33/100 (low risk). An estimated 850 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from electric deep fryers?
The most common injury is burn, scald to the hand, accounting for approximately 3,205 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from electric deep fryers increasing or decreasing?
Down 42% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for electric deep fryers injuries?
The 25-34 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 4,099 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by electric deep fryers?
Of all ER visits involving electric deep fryers, approximately 12.3% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (87.7%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with electric deep fryers?
You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
Related Products in Kitchen Cooking Appliances
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 33/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 25-34 age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.
