The Moreno Valley Fire Department Offers Halloween Safety Tips

When choosing a costume for your child, please consider the following: 1. Stay away from billowing or long trailing fabric. 2. Choose material that won't easily ignite if it comes into contact with heat or flame. 3. Ensure the eye holes in any masks are large enough so they can see out. 4. Monitor your child’s hydration level when wearing thick material costumes. 5. Provide children with flashlights to carry for lighting or glow sticks as part of their costume. It is most safe to use a flashlight or battery-operated candles in a jack-o-lantern. If you use a real candles, use extreme caution. Make sure children are watched at all times when candles are lit. When lighting candles inside jack-o-lanterns, use long fireplace-style matches or a utility lighter. Be sure to place lit pumpkins well away from anything that can burn and out of the way of trick-or-treaters, doorsteps, walkways and yards. Please keep dried flowers, cornstalks and crepe paper well away from all open flames and heat sources as they are highly flammable. Use flashlights as alternatives to candles or torch lights when decorating walkways and yards. They are much safer for trick-or-treaters, whose costumes may brush against the lighting. Remember to keep exits clear of decorations, so nothing blocks escape routes. Tell children to stay away from open flames. Be sure they know how to stop, drop and roll if their clothing catches fire. Have them practice stopping immediately, dropping to the ground, covering their face with hands, and rolling over and over to put the flames out. If your children will be going to Halloween parties at others’ homes, have them look for ways out of the home and plan how they would get out in an emergency. Children should always be accompanied by an adult when trick-or-treating. Closely inspect all candy before allowing children to eat it. Discard any unwrapped treats from a stranger. If in doubt, throw it out. The City of Moreno Valley wishes you and your family a safe and fun Halloween.