With Halloween on the horizon, halt hazards with these tips

FALLBROOK – Halloween has become a popular time for fun and festivities, but with it comes the potential for a variety of fire hazards. The National Fire Protection Association encouraged everyone to take these simple precautions to stay safe without sacrificing that fun.

“Halloween brings an opportunity to wear fun costumes, decorate our homes and eat too much candy,” Lorraine Carli, NFPA’s vice president of outreach and advocacy, said. “However, without proper safety precautions, we run the risk of turning good times into the wrong kind of scary ones.”

According to NFPA research, between 2012 and 2016, decorations were the item first ignited in an estimated average of 800 reported home structure fires per year, resulting in an average of two civilian deaths, 34 civilian injuries and $11 million in direct property damage. The decoration was too close to a heat source such as a candle or equipment in almost half of these fires.

NFPA offered these tips to stay safe during the spooky season:

Costumes: Avoid fabric that billows or trail behind a person, as these can easily ignite. If someone is making their own costume, avoid loosely woven fabrics like linen and cotton, which can be very flammable.

Decorations: Many common decorations like cornstalks, crepe paper and dried flowers are very flammable. Keep these and similar decorations far away from any open flames or heat sources, like candles, heaters and light bulbs.

Candles: Using candles as decoration can be risky if not done correctly. Keep them in a well- attended area out of the path of potential trick-or-treaters. Remind children of the dangers of open flames and make sure they are supervised at all times when candles are lit. Extinguish candles before leaving an area.

Jack-o’-lanterns: Glow sticks or electric candles are the safest choice when it comes to lighting up your jack-o’-lantern, but when choosing to use a real candle, do so with extreme caution. Light a candle inside a jack-o’-lantern using long fireplace matches or a utility lighter and keep it away from other decorations.

Visibility: Give children flashlights or glowsticks for lighting, these can even be incorporated into the costume. If your child has a mask, ensure the eye holes are large enough for them to see clearly.

Make sure smoke alarms are functional and up-to-date.

Exits are not an appropriate place for decorations. When decorating, ensure that nothing is blocking any escape routes.

For more information, check out the Halloween safety video on ways to reduce risk associated with Halloween. Visit Sparky the Fire Dog at his website to find tip sheets, children’s activities, a pumpkin-carving template and more.

For more information, visit http://www.nfpa.org. All NFPA codes and standards can be viewed online for free at http://www.nfpa.org/freeaccess.

Submitted by National Fire Protection Association.