STOW, MA – State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey offers fire safety tips for celebrating Halloween including using battery-operated tea lights in pumpkins instead of candles. More children are injured by cars than fire on Halloween, so it’s important for children to learn and practice pedestrian safety and for drivers to use extra caution. Drive more slowly and watch for children who may forget to cross at corners and use crosswalks.
Reminder: Be Careful with Halloween Costumes, Decorations and Trick-or-Treating
- Use a small flashlight or battery-operated tea light in pumpkins instead of a candle.
- Make sure your home is well-lit inside and out and that there is a clear path to your door.
- Keep decorations like cornstalks away from heat sources and lit candles.
- Be sure all parts of costumes are labeled flame retardant.
- Costumes should not have trailing materials or tails long enough to cause falls.
- If a child is wearing a mask instead of make-up, make sure the eye holes are large enough to see through clearly.
- Children should carry a flashlight or glow sticks; costumes should be bright-colored or have reflective tape to highlight them.
- Children under 12 should always be with an adult. It’s best to take little ones out early. If older children are going out without you, go over the ground rules first and set a curfew.
- Remind youngsters to cross at crosswalks or corners as more children are hit by cars on Halloween than any other single day.
- Fireworks are dangerous and illegal in Massachusetts.
For more information on Halloween Safety, contact your local fire department or look at the Department of Fire Services website at www.mass.gov/dfs, click on Halloween Safety, or call the Public Fire Safety Education Hotline at 1-877-9-NO-FIRE.
