Halloween brings laughter, candy and a parade of superheroes, witches and ghosts filling the streets, but it also brings one of the riskiest nights of the year for pedestrians, especially kids. Darkness, excitement and costumes that limit visibility all combine to create a perfect storm for preventable accidents.
Halloween is a holiday for fun and excitement, but it’s also a night when search and rescue teams are on high alert. As search and rescue volunteers, we know that prevention saves lives, whether it’s hikers packing for the wilderness or families planning for a night of trick-or-treating. We urge hikers to pack the ten essentials, check the weather and plan their routes and trick-or-treaters have similar steps to take. The difference between a close call and a tragedy can come down to one simple choice — taking the extra minute to prepare.
On one particular night of the year, Halloween, the wilderness is traded for the neighborhood street and the dangers aren’t hidden crevasses or sudden storms, but vehicles, darkness and excitement.
Tonight, we need to #TakeTheExtraMinute to talk about urban Preventative SAR, focusing on the unseen victims of the night: the trick-or-treaters who become invisible and the volunteers who might be called when the fun turns serious.
Costumes are Hazards: The Urban SAR Reality
Halloween is fun, but costumes are hazards. We send our kids out dressed in intricate gear that often acts as a visibility nightmare: masks that severely restrict peripheral vision, capes and robes that create tripping hazards and dark fabrics that completely absorb what little light there is.
Everyone is moving in the dark, often fueled by excitement, which leads to dangerously low situational awareness. For SAR and EMS teams, this means responding to two main call types: serious pedestrian-vehicle collisions and minor, but frequent falls and lost person reports in crowded dark areas.
The “Extra Minute” Actions That Save Lives
A single minute of proactive effort before you head off into the night can dramatically reduce the likelihood of a major incident and drastically cut down the response time if a child does get separated from their monster pack.
| The Extra Minute Action | Why SAR Teams Care |
| Visibility Check: Add reflective tape, glow sticks or bright colors to costumes, especially at the knees, ankles and backs. | Reduces Trauma Incidents: This minute directly reduces the likelihood of a major accident, specifically pedestrian-vehicle collisions, by making pedestrians highly visible to drivers. |
| Lighting Check: Make sure every person carries a flashlight or headlamp, not just relying on a phone. | Speeds Up Search: If a child gets separated, a steady bright light makes them dramatically easier to locate in a crowd or on darkened streets. It gives search teams a focused target point. |
| Route Check: Take a minute to review the trick-or-treating route and discuss traffic hazards before leaving the house. | Prevents Misdirection: Reduces calls for lost children who wandered off the planned route in their excitement or disorientation. It instills crucial situational awareness before the sugar rush takes over. |
| Costume Check: Ensure costumes are properly hemmed to prevent tripping and that masks do not block peripheral vision. | Reduces Falls & Injuries: Trips and blocked sightlines are a leading cause of minor SAR and EMS incidents during community events. Preventing falls keeps volunteers free for higher priority missions. |
Why This Matters to Search and Rescue
SAR teams respond to more than wilderness emergencies. We assist during community events when people go missing or are injured and Halloween night often brings an uptick in calls. A reflective strip or light in the dark can be the difference between an easy find and a critical situation.
Visibility isn’t just for drivers. It’s for rescuers, too. When someone vanishes into a crowd of dark costumes, minutes matter. The more visible and prepared a child is, the faster they can be found and the safer everyone stays.
Your Best Safety Gear is a Glow Stick
Halloween is pure fun, until costumes turn into hazards. Capes trip. Masks block sight. And everyone is moving in the dark. We want you to have a fun and safe night. The world depends on the visibility, skill and judgment of those who venture out. Don’t let your kid become a tiny ghost that drivers and rescuers can’t see. Before you step off your porch, #TakeTheExtraMinute to light up your crew and check for movement restrictions.
Sometimes the scary effect your kids may want isn’t total darkness, but a glowing light in the night. That’s perfect, because a little glow stick is the best safety gear you can wear on Halloween. It tells the world: “I am here, I am moving, I am safe.”
As first responders, we tell the public to prepare for the worst before they step onto a trail. It’s time we did the same for the busiest night of the year.
#TakeTheExtraMinute for yourself, for your family and for your community. Staying safe is just a matter of a few easy decisions.
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