Halloween Safety Tips for Kids' Costumes, Trick-or-Treating

Before you go out trick-or-treating, or decorate for a Halloween party, Annapolis officials offer a few safety tips for costumes and fire hazards to avoid.

• 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.
• If your child is wearing a mask, make sure the eye holes are large enough so they can see out. Give children flashlights to carry or glow sticks as part of their costume.
• Dried flowers, cornstalks and crepe paper are highly flammable. Keep these and other decorations away from all open flames and heat sources, including light bulbs and heaters.
• Use a flashlight or a battery-operated candle in a jack-o-lantern. If you use a real candle, use extreme caution. Make sure children are watched at all times when near lighted candles.
• Remember to keep exits clear of decorations, so nothing blocks escape routes.

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“You can never be too cautious when it comes to protecting your family,” Fire Chief David Stokes said. “While some of these reminders may seem simple, they are meant to keep parents mindful of the obvious injuries that could occur during the Halloween excitement.”

Halloween Fires

• Decorations were the item first ignited in an estimated 900 reported home structure fires per year.
• Nearly half of decoration fires in homes occurred because the decorations were too close to a heat source.
• These fires caused an estimated 41 civilian injuries and $13 million in direct property damage per year.
• Forty-one percent of these incidents were started by candles.

Annapolis Police Safety Tips

Visit www.annapolis.gov/police and click on Crime Prevention in the menu on the left hand side for links to more Halloween safety tips.

• Know the route your kids will be taking if you aren’t going with them. Let them know to check in with you every hour, by phone or by stopping back at home. Your best bet is to have an adult go with them. If you can’t take them yourself, see if another parent can.
• Be sure to show your children how to cross a street properly. Make sure that if you have more than one child, they know to take the hand of the younger child when they cross a street. Have your child carry a flashlight and wear reflective clothing.
• Make sure you set a time for your kids to be home. Make sure they know to call immediately if something happens and they are going to be delayed.
• Make sure that if your child is carrying a prop that the tips are smooth and flexible enough to not cause injury. Make sure that costumes won’t get in the way when they are walking, which could cause them to trip.
• Teach your kids about not getting into a stranger’s car, going into a stranger’s home or even talking to strangers.
• Check the Maryland Sex Offender registry and do a search for sex offenders in your neighborhood. http://www.dpscs.state.md.us/sorSearch/
• Check all candy for choking hazards and tampering before eating.