Safety tips will help to ensure safe Halloween for St. Cloud’s children

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Safety tips will help to ensure safe Halloween for St. Cloud’s children

Around Osceola

Tuesday, 19 October 2010 08:28

This year, Halloween will be observed Sunday, Oct. 31. Keeping safety in mind before, during and after will help in ensuring a safer Halloween commemoration. St. Cloud Fire Rescue and St. Cloud Police Department personnel, in their efforts to continue to provide a safe and healthy environment, offer a few safety tips to follow during this year’s festivities:
From the St. Cloud fire marshal:
• When trick-or-treating, never carry candles; use flashlights instead.
• Always wear clearly marked flame-resistant costumes.
• Parents should ensure children know how to “stop, drop and roll” in the event their costumes catch on fire.
• All exits should be kept clear of decorating materials.
• Candles and torchlight decorations should be avoided
• Combustible decorations should be used in limited quantities and should be kept away from all heat sources.
From the St. Cloud Police Department:
• Children should never wear costumes with long tails or materials (to avoid tripping while trick-or-treating).
• Children should wear light-colored costumes; reflective tape should be added to all sides of the costume.
• Begin trick-or-treating before sunset (this year, sunset is at 6:41 p.m., Oct. 31).
• Parents/guardians should always accompany children when they are trick-or-treating.
• Children should easily be able to see out of a face mask.
• Hard plastic or wooden props should be avoided; use foam rubber items.
• Always walk on sidewalks.
• Look both ways before crossing streets.
• Homeowners should keep their pets inside.
• Tricks are not recommended; some tricks may be considered vandalism by property owners and/or law enforcement.
• Be certain to accompany your younger children to every house they approach.
• Parents/guardians should be familiar with every house their children visit and the people from which the children receive treats.
• Children should not enter any home without prior permission from their parent or guardian.
• Children should not approach any vehicle (occupied or unoccupied) unless they know the owner and are accompanied by a parent or guardian.
• Children should never approach any house that is not well lit and does not have a porch or outside light on.
• Children should be cautioned to remember any suspicious incidents and report them to their parents and/or law enforcement.
• Children should run away from people who try to trick them with special treats.
• Children should be instructed to scream and attract attention if anyone tries to grab them or force them to go with them in any way.
• Parents should inspect all treats and dispose of anything that seems to have been tampered with, has been opened, or is not wrapped.
• A good alternative to trick-or-treating is for parents to organize parties at home, in schools or in community centers.
The city of St. Cloud does not have set trick-or-treating hours. However, the city does have a curfew for children under 16 not accompanied by a parent or guardian. The city’s curfew is 1 a.m. during the weekend. The police department will have extra patrols within the city during the Halloween observance.
For emergencies, call 911. For non-emergencies, call 407-891-6700.