Heart BEAT

They Do it For The Kids

WAITSBURG - Waitsburg Fire Department Captain Brian Callahan thought getting to the fire department five minutes before 5 p.m. would be just fine on Halloween last Monday. However, when he showed up, there were already parents waiting with their witches, monsters, ghosts and princesses.

This Halloween was the first year the Waitsburg Fire Department provided blinking safety flashers and candy for the local children as they donned costumes and went door to door for treats.

Callahan and firefighter Greg McVey had a swarm of trick-or-treaters early in the evening. They handed out their candy and affixed the blinking flashers to the children's backs.

"We decided to do something about accidents that happen on Halloween," Callahan said.

According to Safe Kids USA, children are more than twice as likely to be hit and killed by a car while walking on Halloween night than any other night of the year. The organization also reports in an analysis of deaths from 2002 to 2006, about 2.2 children are killed in pedestrian accidents from 4 to 10 p.m. on Halloween, compared with one child every other evening at the same time.

The Volunteer Firefighter's Association ordered 150 safety flashers and candy for a Halloween community service project.

Callahan said he had seen the flashers before on children and thought it would be a great idea to keep Waitsburg kids visible and safe in the dark.

He said one of the most common Halloween accidents is the vehicle-child collision and he wanted to make sure that didn't happen.

"We've never had it happen here in Waitsburg, but we don't want it to start," Callahan said.

The children were happy to have the firefighters put treats in their candy buckets and held still while Callahan put the flasher on. McVey was turning each of the flashers on and setting aside the "duds."

The Volunteer Firefighter's Association holds fundraisers each year to pay for scholarships and projects like this for the community. Callahan said he hopes it will become an annual event. The flashers blink red to make cars aware of children in the dark for about eight hours. And because the flashers run on a replaceable watch battery, they can be reused.

In just the first 15 minutes, the firefighters had already handed out 20 flashers and candy to local kids.

"There were people waiting right here for the doors to open," Callahan said with a grin.

Callahan said he was giving up part of his Halloween evening to serve the community because it was his idea, and McVey said it was because his children are grown and he wanted to help in some way.

"It's for the kids," McVey said.