1

C e t r o n i a A m b u l a n c e C o r p s

Costume Safety 2

Monster Cupcakes 2

Trick-0r-Treat Safety

3

Halloween Word Search

3

Halloween Pet Safety

4

Inside this issue

Skeletons and fluorescent Jack O’ Lanterns decorate homes, and children are disguised as ghosts and goblins….whoever came up with the idea of having children roam neighborhoods at night to collect “tricks-or-treats” from strangers was not thinking about children’s safety. Halloween can be very dangerous, but not necessarily for the reasons most people think.

Halloween has the highest rate of child related pedestrian injuries, in fact according to Safe Kids Worldwide, children are four times more likely to suffer a pedestrian related injury on Halloween than on any other night of the year. The excitement of children and adults on Halloween sometimes makes them forget to be careful. Simple common sense can do a lot to stop any tragedies from happening. In an effort to keep children safe while “trick-or-treating,” Cetronia Ambulance Corps urges motorists to slow down and obey the speed limits and watch for children walking along the roadway. Parents are urged to always accompany their children and remind them to pay attention to their surrounding and the dangers that traffic may present. At Cetronia Ambulance Corps we want to make sure that you and your child’s Halloween experience is not only fun and exciting but safe as well. We wish parents, children and motorists alike, a happy and safe Halloween!

Halloween Safety Larry Wiersch, CEO Cetronia Ambulance Corps

Special Edition October 2008

Cetronia Ambulance Corps

The Leader in Emergency Medical Services,

Transportation and Community

Health Resources

Halloween Safety Newsletter

2

Costume Safety

The following are important things to remember when you are purchasing a costume for your child this Halloween. By following these common sense tips you can help reduce the risk of any serious accidents or injuries happening to your child or possibly someone else's.

Help your child pick out or make a costume that will be safe. Make it fire proof, the eye holes should be large enough for good peripheral vision. If you set jack-o-lanterns on your porch with candles in them, make sure that they are far enough out of the way so that kids costumes won't accidentally be set on fire. Make sure that if your child is carrying a prop, such as a scythe, butcher knife or a pitchfork, that the tips are smooth and flexible enough to not cause injury if fallen on. Kids always want to help with the pumpkin carving. Small children shouldn't be allowed to use a sharp knife to cut the top or the face. There are many kits available that come with tiny saws that work better then knives and are safer, although you can be cut by them as well. It's best to let the kids clean out the pumpkin and draw a face on it, which you can carve for them. Treating your kids to a spooky Halloween dinner will make them less likely to eat the candy they collect before you have a chance to check it for them. Teaching your kids basic everyday safety such as not getting into cars or talking to strangers, watching both ways before crossing streets and crossing when the lights tell you to, will help make them safer when they are out Trick or Treating.

Halloween Monster Cupcakes

Ingredients: 1 Box of Cake Mix Blue Frosting 2 Candy Eyes Red whip Licorice 1 Circus Peanut, Halved Use Mini Cupcake Pans

Follow baking directions for mini cupcakes and when cooled: 1. Unwrap the cupcake and turn it upside down. 2. With a writing or star tip, frost the cupcake from

the top down. 3. Add the eyes, the licorice antennae and peanut

halves for sneakers

3

Trick or Treating Safety Tips

When children are Trick - Or - Treating a parent or responsible adult should always accompany them on their neighborhood rounds. Trick - Or - Treaters should always:

Use a flashlight, so they can see and be seen by others. Stay in a group, walk slowly and communicate where you are going.

Only trick-or-treat in well known neighborhoods at homes that have a porch light on.

Remain on well-lit streets and always use the sidewalk. If no sidewalk is available, walk at the farthest edge of the roadway facing traffic. Never cut across yards or use alleys. Never enter a stranger's home or car for a treat.

Obey all traffic and pedestrian regulations. Always walk. never run across a street. Only cross the street as a group in established

crosswalks (as recognized by local custom).

Remove any mask or item that will limit eyesight before crossing a street, driveway or alley. Don't assume the right of way. Motorists may have trouble seeing Trick-or-Treaters. Just because one car stops, doesn't mean others will.

Never consume unwrapped food items or open beverages that may be offered. No treats are to be eaten until they are thoroughly checked by an Adult at home.

Law Enforcement authorities should be notified immediately of any suspicious or unlawful activity.

J T S K W M D V H F E T H W F

X A S K U L A E L X R N A O U

J A C M E M T O V I C R U R L

M B M K P L W S C I E Z N C L

N Y S I O E E K N D L D T E M

I O R U R L O T I O K R E R O

K E N E X R A P O V I E D A O

P B W R T A S N A N M T H C N

M V Z R O L L P T W R O O S G

U C E D Q C K P W E B S U P H

P A A D R A Y E V A R G S M O

T S E N O B X D H S L N E S S

B L A C K C A T N T S K V V T

E D I R Y A H V Z A W I T C H

R V L K Q H F Y U B C O L O F

Spooky Halloween Word Search

BATS BLACK CAT BONES CANDY CANDY CORN DEVIL FULL MOON GHOST GRAVEYARD HAUNTED HOUSE HAYRIDE JACK O LANTERN

MASK MUMMY POTIONS PUMPKIN SCARECROW SKELETON SPIDER TRICK OR TREAT VAMPIRE WEBS WEREWOLF WITCH

4

Halloween Pet Safety

Have a spooky and safe Halloween

Don’t leave your pet in the yard on Halloween. There have been reports of vicious pranksters who have teased, injured, stolen and even killed pets on this night.

Although the ASPCA recommends that cats remain indoors at all times, it is especially important to keep your feline inside for several days before and after Halloween. Black cats in particular may be at risk from children’s pranks or other cruelty-related incidents. As a safety precaution, many shelters will not adopt out black cats around Halloween.

Don’t dress up your dog or cat unless you know he or she loves it. If you decide to do so, make sure the costume isn’t annoying or unsafe, and doesn’t restrict her movement, vision, hearing or ability to breathe or bark. Avoid costumes with small or dangling accessories that she could chew off and possibly choke on. Make sure an adult supervises pets in costume at all times.

Cetronia Ambulance Corps

Administration: 610.398.0239

For questions or to schedule Non-Emergency Transportation Services: 610.395.6833 or cetroniatransportation@cetronia.org . Email will only confirm

your request for transportation; it will not automatically schedule the transport.

You will receive confirmation of the requested transport by telephone.

For Emergencies Always Dial 911

Halloween can be a very dangerous holiday for your beloved pets. Keep them safe by following these tips:

All but the most social dogs and cats should be kept in a separate room during peak trick-or-treat visiting hours. Too many strangers in unusual garb can be scary and stressful for pets. When opening the door for trick-or-treaters, take care that Max or Mittens doesn’t dart outside. Make sure all your pets are wearing current identification, just in case. No tricks or treats: Keep all Halloween candy out of your pet’s reach. Chocolate can be poisonous to animals, and tinfoil and cellophane candy wrappers can be hazardous if swallowed. It’s not a bright idea to keep lit pumpkins around companion animals. Pets can knock them over, and curious kittens especially run the risk of being burned.

7355 William Avenue, Suite 700 Allentown, PA 18106

www.cetronia.org • 610.398.0239