Prevent Your Home From Fires This Halloween

10/27/2020 (Permalink)

Carved pumpkin and candles

Halloween is a time for tricks and treats, but it's also a time to be cautious about fires. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), decorations are the first thing to ignite in more than 1,000 reported home fires each year. Here are a few things you can do this Halloween to prevent fires in your home from NFPA and the American Red Cross.

• 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. 
• It is safest to use a flashlight or battery-operated candle in a jack-o-lantern, use long, fireplace-style matches or a utility lighter. Be sure to place lit pumpkins well away from anything that can burn and far enough out of the way of trick-or-treaters, doorsteps, walkways, and yards. 
• Remember to keep exits clear of decorations so nothing blocks escape routes.
• 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.
• When using a real candle to light your jack-o-lantern, make sure the candle gets blown out when you can't monitor it, especially when you leave your home.
• Always remember to turn off any running electric appliances before you leave home, blow out candles, and unplug fire hazards, such as lights, that might get too hot.