Halloween Safety Tips from Escambia County Fire Rescue

Escambia County Fire Rescue encourages residents to have a fun and safe Halloween this Thursday.

Residents are encouraged to follow these fire safety tips during Halloween festivities:

• When selecting a costume, make sure to stay away from long trailing fabric. If your child is wearing a mask, make sure the holes around the eyes are large enough that he or she can see out.
• Provide children with flashlights to carry for lighting or glow sticks as part of their costume.
• Keep all decorations away from open flames and other heat sources like light bulbs and heaters.
• Use a battery-operated candle or glow stick in Jack-o-lanterns. If you've decided to use a real candle use extreme caution and watch children at all times.
• Remember to keep exits clear of decoration so nothing blocks escape routes.
• Make sure all smoke alarms in the home are working.
• Tell children to stay away from open flames and be sure they know to stop, drop and roll if their clothing catches fire.

It's that time of year again! Change your clock, change your batteries.

• Changing and testing the batteries in your smoke alarms when setting your clocks back an hour for daylight savings time at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 3 can help save lives.
• The National Fire Protection Association reports that 71 percent of smoke alarms that failed to operate had missing, disconnected or dead batteries.
• Smoke alarms are a key part of your home fire escape plan. When there is a fire, smoke spreads fast. Working smoke alarms give you early warning so you can get outside quickly. Smoke alarms save lives.
• For information about obtaining a home smoke detector, call 850-595-HERO (4376). City of Pensacola residents may call 850-436-5200 for smoke detector installation assistance.
  

Remember: "Close before you doze."

"Close Before You Doze" is a public fire safety program that encourages everyone to close their bedroom doors at night. The program was created by the Fire Safety Research Institute after research showed that closing a bedroom door can help save lives in a fire. Learn more at closeyourdoor.org.

For more fire safety tips, follow Escambia County Fire Rescue on Facebook and Instagram.