Let's keep Spooky Season fun! 

As our days get shorter and our routines change with the season, October is a great time to take a fresh look at the simple steps we can all take to prevent emergencies and keep our communities safe. October is a month filled with important safety reminders, including Fire Prevention Week, Teen Driver Safety Week, and Halloween  safety. 

Fire Prevention Week ran from October 4-10 and highlighted Lithium-Ion Battery Fire Safety.

"Charge Into Fire Safety. Safe Charging Is A SUPERPOWER!™”focuses on the everyday charging habits that can help reduce the risk of lithium-ion battery fires and keep homes and communities safer. Plug in. Power up. Stay safe.

Click Here to Visit NFPA's Fire Prevention Week Webpage.  

South Metro Fire Rescue hosted a 4th Grade Drawing competition. Students created posters showing what safe charging looks like and how we can all be superheroes when it comes to charging electronic devices safely. 

Our Winning School: Rolling Hills Elementary won donuts for the entire fourth grade delivered by our Fire Chief! Our 1st place poster won a VIP fire engine demonstration with South Metro Fire Rescue! The winning poster will be displayed at South Metro Fire Rescue fire stations throughout the community!

Please visit our Lithium-Ion Battery Fire Safety Page for more information on how to keep your home safe from Lithium-Ion battery fires. 

• Always Buckle Up - The car doesn’t move until everyone is buckled up — front seat and back, on every trip, every time. More than half of the passengers killed in cars driven by teen drivers in 2024 weren’t buckled up.
• No drinking and no drugs - Emphasize the fact that it’s illegal to drink before you’re 21 — and that driving drunk or high is unacceptable at any age. In 2024, 22% of teen drivers involved in fatal crashes had been drinking.
• No distractions - Driving is the first and only task when behind the wheel. That means no phones or texting while driving, and not doing anything else — like eating, drinking, or fixing hair and makeup — when you should fully focus on driving. About 10% of all teen drivers involved in fatal crashes in recent years were distracted at the time of the crash. Teens should activate the “do not disturb” feature on their phones to eliminate the distractions notifications cause.
• No speeding - In 2024, speeding was a factor in 33% of the passenger vehicle teen drivers involved in fatal crashes. Faster speeds rob inexperienced teen drivers of the extra reaction time they may need to avoid a crash. Emphasize that they must obey posted speed limits.
• Limit extra passengers - Teen drivers are at a greater risk for a crash when they have others in their car. Passengers can serve as a distraction for inexperienced teen drivers, and that's why many states’ graduated driver licensing (GDL) restrictions prohibit any passengers in vehicles with teen drivers. GDL laws also set other limits on teen drivers for safety.
• Drowsy Driving - We all know how important sleep is, especially for your teens during the school year when studying can cause long nights. Remind your teen the importance of a good night's sleep, and the dangers of drowsy driving.

• Use CODOT's Driving Contract as a simple way to talk to your teens about safe driving. 
• Don’t give kids a curfew when to be home. Give them a curfew of when they need to leave by. This avoids speeding and going through red/yellow lights to make it home on time. 
• Talk about a plan for poor weather roads.
  • Wake up early enough to scrape windows so their view is not obstructed nor are they in a rush.
  • Talk with your teen about whether or not they are comfortable to drive in the present weather. Create a plan for if they are not.

1. Cross the street at corners, using traffic signals and crosswalks. Look left, right and left again when crossing and keep looking as you cross. 
2. Put electronic devices down, keep heads up and walk, don’t run, across the street.
3. Teach children to make eye contact with drivers before crossing in front of them.
4. Always walk on sidewalks or paths. If there are no sidewalks, walk facing traffic as far to the left as possible. Children should walk on direct routes with the fewest street crossings.
5. Watch for cars that are turning or backing up. Teach children to never dart out into the street or cross between parked cars.
6. Join kids under age 12 for trick-or-treating. If kids are mature enough to be out without supervision, tell them to stick to familiar areas that are well lit and trick-or-treat in groups.

1. Decorate costumes and bags with reflective tape or stickers and, if possible, choose light colors.
2. Choose face paint and makeup whenever possible instead of masks, which can obstruct a child’s vision.
3. Have kids carry glow sticks or flashlights to help them see and be seen by drivers. 
4. When selecting a costume, make sure it is the right size to prevent trips and falls. 

1. Slow down and be especially alert in residential neighborhoods. Children are excited on Halloween and may move in unpredictable ways.
2. Take extra time to look for kids at intersections, on medians and on curbs.
3. Enter and exit driveways and alleys slowly and carefully.
4. Get rid of any distractions - like your phone - in your car so you can concentrate on the road and your surroundings.
5. Turn your headlights on earlier in the day to spot children from greater distances.
6. Popular trick-or-treating hours are 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Be especially alert for kids during those hours.