Fire safety training is integral, especially in October. No, it’s not because pseudo-witches and warlocks with teenage under-girding are running about setting things on fire; though that’s an excellent reason to be well-versed in conventional fire safety! It has more to do with flammable Halloween costumes and Halloween costume safety. It’s not enough one must keep one’s cat locked up at night, lest the creepers snatch it up and make some sort of cat-sacrifice; now the costumes are flammable too. Well, that’s just modernity! So the thing to do, for the safety of children, loved ones, and any adults that may become potentially inebriated in the near future, is know the fire risks and do everything possible to avoid them.
Materials
Halloween costumes are exceptionally cheap for a reason: they are only meant to be worn once. The tradition is to have a new costume every year. What fun is it to go as the same Scooby Doo character every October? Sometimes folks want to go as Scooby Don’t. Or Pink Darth Vader–anyway, it doesn’t make sense to spend hundreds of dollars on Halloween costumes every year, does it? So they must be inexpensive, but the producers must make money as well, otherwise their bottom line drops out. The result is exceptionally cheap, poorly put-together, mass-produced, disposable costumes made out of materials that will go up in flame at the thought of a fire. In this way Halloween costumes have been injuring kids and teenagers for decades; possibly getting them back for all the shenanigans they achieve unimpeded when nobody’s looking.
Jack-o-lanterns
Look, just avoid Jack-o-lanterns like the plague; and if smoking when hosting a child’s Halloween outing, be ashamed; be very ashamed! Or just put the cigarette out. Inexpensive costumes can be that flammable. A child in America when a costume got ignited by a Jack-o-lantern. So in general, just keep about five, six feet of distance when one is sighted. If there are two on the front porch, go as much between them as possible. Maybe make a game out of it for the kids.
Look for Flame-Resistant Costumes
Most people aren’t looking for flame-resistant costumes because they’re not looking to throw money into a trash-can. They’re looking for the cheapest option out there. Well, if a child catches on fire because said child is dressed up in a cheap costume, who’s fault is that? Look for costumes that have “fire-resistant” or “fire-retardent” printed on them somewhere. If walking down the department store aisle, and such a costume can’t be found, then do one of two things: helicopter that child through the trick-or-treating and make sure no flame gets near them, or take one for the team and spend a few extra dollars on a flame-resistant costume.
Masking
If the child’s mask makes it hard for them to see, well don’t just let them stumble around without escort! Full-grown adults have trouble with certain masks, and they’re coordinated. Some uncoordinated child is just a ticking time bomb. And, while perhaps they have plugged the cat’s tail into the power socket enough times they deserve to stumble into a jack-o-lantern and catch fire, parenthood marks are definitely deducted when a child is allowed to tumble around preventably smoldering.
So this article has been tongue-in-cheek, and that with a purpose! Halloween should be fun for the kids, and folks shouldn’t lose their mind over protecting them. But it is integral that people understand about fire safety in the workplace and out of it–not only kids wear costumes, after all! Many things that haven’t been considered really need to be.
Now Ifast provides quick, hands-on courses supervised by experienced trainers to ensure thorough understanding of the most modern elements of fire safety–including live fire demonstration! Attendees get to use a fire extinguisher and everything. Contact Ifast to educate yourself, keeping you, your children, and those with whom you work with safe.
