Costumes Catch Fire
By: BrittanyPelletz
Updated: October 23, 2008
The ghouls and goblins are gearing up for halloween, but are those costumes safe? With Halloween approaching, parents are on the prowl for costumes for their kids. Many looking for the cutest or scariest ones. But, whether cute or scary, they all can be dangerous with their potential to catch on fire.
We went to the fire department to light some costumes on fire. We wanted to know how quickly they could burn.
Firefighter, Gary Hamner says, "Wee could clearly see that a small flame such as a cigarette lighter or jack-o-lantern on somebodies porch could easily set these costumes on fire and they go up quick."
When it comes to store bought costumes, many don't even have warning labels of their flamability. As for the ones that do say flame resistant or flame retardent, they can still catch on fire.
Gary Hamner adds, "You can't rely on the fact that your costume is a store-bought costume from a local merchant or a major manufacturer. We cannot take it for granted that they are going to be flame retardent."
Parents in Abilene plan on taking certain precautions when trick-or-treating this year.
An Abilene mother,Rachel Litzinger advises, "Just make sure they're physically close to you at all times.You don't want anything to happen or again like the jack-o-lanterns with fire in them."
There are no regulations requiring fire-safe costumes. It's up to parents to be aware of the dangers involved with costumes.
Parents are always advised to keep their jack-o-lanterns away from their front porch, where they could come in contact with a child's costume.
