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Halloween Safety Tips From South City FD

Easy steps from the South City Fire Department to keeping your trick-or-treaters safe.

Posted Thu, Oct 25, 2012 at 8:05 pm PT|Updated Fri, Oct 26, 2012 at 2:04 pm PT

At a regular City Council meeting on Wednesday, the South San Francisco Fire Department gave the following safety tips for Halloween:

Costumes

though it can be difficult to find flame-retardent kids costumes, avoid shaggy, ropey, or hairy costumes that hav ea tendancy to catch fire more easily
costumes that are bright are easier to see at night
if a child has a mask, make sure eye holes are large enough for them to maintain peripheral vision
for younger kids especially, put a name tag with phone number and address in case they are found separated from others
give your kids glow sticks or rings, flashlights, or put reflective tape on their costumes to make them more visible to you and to drivers

Trick-or-treating

it's best, especially for younger kids, to trick-or-treat before it's dark outside
keep kids in groups
keep kids within your eyesight
for older trick-or-treaters: if they are out without parental supervision, know where they are going, keep in touch throughout the night and agree on a time for them to return home

Home decorations

spray decorations with flame retardants
do not use open flames; battery-operated candles are good for jack-o-lanterns or other decorations
if using dry ice, keep out of reach of children
feed trick-or-treaters before they go out so they will not eat as much candy all at once
look at the candy before they eat it; if it's not wrapped, it's safest to throw it away.

Happy Halloween! For more Patch Halloween 2012 coverage, go here

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