Last-Minute Halloween Safety Tips For Kids

ANNAPOLIS, MD — As Halloween approaches, the Anne Arundel County Office of Emergency Management wants you and your family to enjoy festivities safely! Here are some tips from the National Fire Protection Association to help keep everyone safe:

• Costumes: When choosing a costume, stay away from billowing or long-trailing fabric. If you are making your own costume, choose material that won’t easily ignite if it comes into contact with heat or flame.
• Visibility: Provide children with flashlights to carry for lighting or glow sticks as part of their costumes. If your child is wearing a mask, make sure the eye holes are large enough so he/she can see clearly out of it.
• Flammable decorations: 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.
• Candles/jack-o-lanterns: It is safest to use a glow stick or battery-operated candle in a jack-o-lantern. If you use a real candle, use extreme caution. When lighting candles inside jack-o-lanterns, use long fireplace-style matches or a utility lighter.

If you choose to use candle decorations, make sure to keep them well attended at all times. Do not leave them near flammable objects or where trick-or-treaters may walk. Remind your children to avoid open flames. Make sure children are watched at all times when candles are lit.

• Exits: Remember to keep exits clear of decorations, so nothing blocks escape routes.

For more Halloween safety tips from the National Fire Prevention Association, please click here.

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Release: Anne Arundel County Office of Emergency Management

Image: Shutterstock