Halloween Costume Fire Safety - Supporting Claudia Winkleman's Campaign

About Claudia Winkleman’s Campaign…

You may recall that in 2014, TV presenter Claudia Winkleman’s daughter Matilda was out ‘trick or treating’ when her costume caught light from a candle outside somebody’s house, causing serious burns to her leg.

In the wake of this horrendous accident, Claudia has become a passionate advocate for fire safety awareness, publicly campaigning for stricter fire safety standards for children’s Halloween costumes.

Due to her passionate campagining, retailers such as Sainsburys, Tesco, Asda, and Marks & Spencer decided to take initiative and massively improve their fire safety testing standards for their children’s Halloween costumes.

Shocking fact: children’s fancy dress costumes are legally classed as TOYS, not clothing, therefore aren’t subject to the same level of fire safety regulations as standard day-to-day clothing and there is no legal requirement for them to be flame retardant or fireproof!

In 2015, the government launched an investigation into whether the fire safety of Halloween costumes needs improving, and sent out Trading Standards do on the spot checks with retailers. However, aside from some retailers actively choosing to adopt more stringent testing, there has still been NO change to UK legislation despite Claudia’s campaign!

Fire safety… how YOU can help to reduce the risks

By choosing your decorations carefully, and by picking the right outfits for your kids, you can do a whole world of good.

If you’re decorating the front of your house, please avoid all flames and stick to battery operated fake flames, like these* artificial tea lights on Amazon!

1. Only buy outfits that are clearly and explicitly labelle
2. Ad as flame retardant!
3. Put clothes UNDER the costume to create a barrier between the costume and skin in case of emergency.
4. Teach your kids to ‘STOP, DROP AND ROLL’.

Stop, Drop and Roll… Show your kids this handy video!