Mountains of candy, racks of colorful costumes, and piles of pumpkins just waiting to be carved are easily spotted in the greater Chicago area this time of year. Like many kids just about everywhere, youngsters in Chicago’s neighborhoods of Gold Coast, Wicker Park, Magnificent Mile, and others are counting down the days until they’ll be attending fall Halloween parties, trick-or-treating, and showing off their clever, pretty, or scary costumers
While October 31st brings a lot of joy to children, teens and adults, it can also harbor a dark side: fire damage, smoke damage, and water damage. Most fires caused during Halloween weekend are started by traditional, open-flame candles that are left unattended.
If you fall victim to a tragic home or business fire this month, or anytime, it’s reassuring to know that you can turn to the restoration specialists at ServiceMaster Restoration by Simons for complete and compassionate fire damage, smoke and soot damage, or water damage remediation and restoration. Our highly trained disaster restoration specialists are armed with the newest equipment and solutions to quickly restore your home or business to its pre-loss condition. Plus, we’ll work alongside your insurance company to help minimize the financial burden that a fire damage occurrence can have on you and your family.
To protect you and your family this year from the devastating effects of fire, carefully review these Halloween fire safety tips from the National Fire Protection Safety Association:
- Provide your kids with flashlights or glow sticks to help them see where they’re walking while trick-or-treating. And, don’t forget to keep extra batteries on hand!
- Children’s masks and wigs should be not worn if they inhibit vision. Restricted vision could cause a little one to stumble over a pumpkin that’s lit with an open flame.
- All costumes should feature light-colored, fireproof material and be void of any long pieces of flowing fabric.
- Use flashlights, glow sticks, or battery-operated candles in all jack-o-lanterns.
- Decorations, including flowers, corn stalks, and crepe paper, can catch fire quickly. Keep all decorations away from open flames and other heat sources.
- Use flashlights or torchlights as alternatives to candles when decorating your walkway, front entrance, or yard. Make sure each exit is well lit and clear.
- Make sure that all smoke alarms in your home are in good working order and replace all of their batteries on November 1st, which is Daylight Saving’s Time.
- Keep a working fire extinguisher on hand in case of an emergency.
- Warn your children to stay away from all open flames.
ServiceMaster Restoration by Simons serves 18 Chicago neighborhoods, including Gold Coast, Wicker Park, and Magnificent Mile. Contact us immediately at 773-376-1110 for all of your fire and smoke mitigation cleanup and water damage restoration needs. We’re available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to help you recover from fire damage in your home.