Children dressed in costumes excitedly running door to door to trick-or-treat, festive decorations like glowing jack-o-lanterns, paper ghosts and dried cornstalks adorning front porches – these are some of the classic hallmarks of Halloween that make the holiday special for kids and adults alike.

Unfortunately, these Halloween symbols and activities can also present lurking fire risks that have the potential to become truly scary. But by planning ahead, you can help make this Halloween a fire-safe one. Taking simple fire safety precautions like keeping decorations far away from open flames and using battery-operated candles or glow-sticks in jack-o-lanterns can help ensure your holiday remains festive and fun!

The Bedford Hills Fire Department reminds everyone to have a spooky and SAFE Halloween!!

Halloween by the numbers:

• From 2009-2013, decorations were the item first ignited in an estimated average of 860 reported home structure fires per year.
• Nearly half of decoration fires in homes occurred because the decorations were too close to a heat source.
• These fires caused an estimated average of one civilian death, 41 civilian injuries and $13 million in direct property damage per year.
• Forty-one percent of these incidents were started by candles; one-fifth began in the living room, family room, or den.

Courtesy of the NFPA