08:37 AM PST on Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Associated Press

EUGENE, Ore. -- A construction workers' tradition of cooking a turkey for an early Thanksgiving celebration went awry when the oil in their deep fryer caught fire burning the house they had just finished building.

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Cement worker Henry Schmerber bought a new propane fryer for the occasion Tuesday and set it up inside the garage of the vacant house. Workers took turns watching the kettle.

But the fryer's thermometer was broken, the oil inside overheated, spilled into the burner and ignited, workers said.

Flames spread through the garage and up the front of the house, into a second-story room of the unsold home in the Cozy Homes development.

The men fought the blaze with a fire extinguisher to no avail.

Eugene District Fire Chief Paul Dammen put the loss at $75,000. It was insured.

Schmerber and his co-workers like deep-fried turkey. The technique began in the South and has gained popularity. Cooking time is shortened and the meat stays juicier, advocates say.

The National Fire Protection Association's Web site discourages consumers from using the deep-fryers. The group warns heating as much as five gallons of oil to 350 degrees or more poses a "significant danger."

Undaunted, the workers bought a second bird and cooked it in the back yard of a house across the street.

"We're gonna burn another house down," Schmerber joked.