Halloween is an exciting and spooky time of year, but it is also an important time to practice fire and personal safety. Often, decorations are the first materials to ignite in home fires and numerous others are started by candles. The following safety precautions will help ensure a safer Halloween. 

Costumes 

• When choosing a costume, stay away from long trailing fabric. 
• Reduce fire hazards by choosing costumes made of polyester or nylon fabric and not sheer cotton or rayon fabric. However, any fabric can burn if it comes in contact with an open flame.
• Eye holes in masks should permit full visibility 
• Keep hemlines short enough to prevent tripping

Decorations 

• Remember to keep exits clear of decorations, so nothing blocks escape routes.
• Light jack-o-lanterns with a battery powered light. If you use candles, make sure they’re away from anything that can burn and far enough out of the way of trick-or-treaters. 
• Dried flowers, cornstalks and crepe paper are highly flammable. Keep these and other decorations well away from all open flames and heat sources including light bulbs and heaters.

Trick-or-treating

• Children should always go trick-or-treating with a responsible adult.
• Provide children with flashlights to carry for lighting or glow sticks as part of their costume
• Do not allow children to carry sharp sticks or other objects that could cause injury to others.
• Tell children to stay away from open flames including jack-o-lanterns with candles in them. Be sure they know how to stop, drop and roll if their clothing catches fire.