Be Safe, Be Seen on Halloween!

Halloween night in Forest Grove is always a fun and enjoyable experience. Thousands of ghouls and goblins flock to the downtown area to trick or treat the merchants, visit the "Hall - O - Safe" at Pacific University, or flood local sidewalks in search of the sugary goodness that fills the orange plastic pumpkin buckets. At the same time it can be a stressful night for drivers as they try and negotiate traffic filled roads at night, in who knows what kind of weather, with all of these "new" pedestrians hitting the streets and sidewalks. According to the child injury prevention group Safe Kids USA, twice as many kids are killed while walking on Halloween than the other 364 days in a year, so can parents do to prevent this tragedy from happening to their little ones? It really all starts with being seen on Halloween!


1. Choose light colored costumes that can be seen in the dark.

2. Consider adding reflective materials to your child's costume. Simple reflective decals can be found at craft stores, or talk to your local fabric shop about reflective material that can be sewn onto your child's costumes. It is amazing how bright these reflective strips are when headlights shine on them.

3. Have your children carry flashlights and glow sticks with them at all times, even if it is still daylight when they start.

4. Walk on sidewalks or established paths, never walk in the street and only cross at marked cross walks with traffic lights. Always look both ways when you cross the street and walk, don't run.

5. Help your kids slow down, it is so easy for them to be excited and rush from place to place, but teaching them to slow down and be alert of what is around them will help them see cars that are backing up or turning.

6. For drivers please be safe, pay attention, slow down, and turn off all distractions. Do not eat or drink in the car, talk or text on the cell phone, and be extra vigilant of kids of all ages.

On Halloween night starting at 4:00 p.m. our firefighters will be in downtown Forest Grove passing out glow sticks to the trick or treaters so that they can be seen at Halloween, and don't forget that even though our Station 4 is off the beaten path downtown we still have candy and would love to have the kids trick or treat the fire station.

Be Safe, Be Seen at Halloween!