Happy Halloween!
The CityForce team wants to wish you and your city a safe, fun and fantastic Halloween night! With thousands of kids trick or treating and adults passing out candy or attending Halloween parties, there's a lot of safety risks lurking in the shadows. Check out our list of last minute Halloween tips + tricks to ensure that your residents stay safe tonight!
- The only thing "scary" about tonight should be the masks and decorations - adults, make sure you're supervising your kids as they trick-or-treat, even if they're going in large groups.
- Even if they're offering king size candy bars, ensure that your kids use caution when approaching strangers.
- Stay visible! Use bright flashlights and reflective tape on costumes to light the way and keep your kids in plain view.
- Costumes are more extravagant every year - but avoid flame-retardant features like long sleeves or trains or anything that could catch on fire near electric decorations or candles.
- We're all eager to dive into that candy bag, but adults should always thoroughly inspect and examine Halloween candy before giving it to their kids. Opened treats should always be thrown away.
- With winter approaching, it's much darker at night - pay extreme caution to crossing the street or intersections.
- Keep pets inside and make sure they won't run out their door if you open it to greet trick-or-treaters. Pets should wear their collars with identification tags just to be safe.
- Speaking of identification - you don't want your kids to be wearing obvious name tags or anything that would give away a lot of information. However, it's a good idea to keep a hidden emergency identification card on the inside of your kids' costumes in case you get separated.
- Only travel in an area that you and your family members are familiar with. This makes it easier to stay together and reconnect if you get separated for a few minutes.
- Kids should only ever approach houses that are well-lit and look like they are passing out Halloween candy.
- Do your children know how to dial 9-1-1? This is a great safety tip for anytime of the year, as long as they know to only dial if it's an emergency.
- If your child is wearing a mask, ensure that their vision isn't impaired - this is especially necessary if they're crossing the street!
- Face paint should be non-toxic.
- Keep your Jack-o'-lanterns away from curtains, drapes or anything that could catch on fire.
- When is the last time you replaced your smoke alarm batteries? Here's your reminder!
