My wife and I were invited to her sister's house for Thanksgiving. The brother in law wanted to use his new oil turkey cooker. We set it up in the backyard, away from the house, on the patio.

We started the propane burner and after 20 minutes the oil was hot. He drops the turkey in the hot oil. Then suddenly the hot oil flows over the top, catches on fire and heads towards the fence. We were shocked.

Instantly the grass catches on fire, then the fence goes up in flames. Not, just one section the hole side goes up in matter of minutes. In the meantime, the turkey is frying real good. We could not pull the turkey out due to the raging fire around it.

The neighbor's calls the Air Force base Fire Department as they lived on base. They arrive in mass. Not one Fire truck but several. Shortly, after the fire department arrive, the police and the Wing Commander shows up.

Besides burning the turkey to a crisp, my brother in law had to report to the Wing Commander office, Monday morning in full blues, along with his First Sergeant, his Commander, his section's Officer in Charge and his immediate supervisor. This was to explain "How he had a fire in Base Housing.

Prior to the meeting, he read the instructions "Do NOT fill (oil) pass this line. We still laugh to this day about it. I usually bring a fire extinguisher with me and stand guard."

(Editor's note: This is one of the five finalists in our Thanskgiving Dinner Disaster contest sponsored by Vallerga's Markets. Read this and the other four entries, then vote for your favorite in our online poll. The winner of $100 to Vallerga's will be announced Tuesday, Dec. 2)