Firefighters offer lights; cops give advice

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By ANTHONY SPINELLI


Connecticut Post

MILFORD | The police and fire departments are a little at odds over Halloween.

The Police Department does not condone trick-or-treating door to door on Halloween, period, yet the Fire Department is giving out free flashing lights that children can wear on their costumes to make trick-or-treating safer.

"We're doing it for safety measures," said Bruce Varga, a fire inspector who is working with the program.

The Fire Department will distribute 1,000 blinking lights that the Milford Bank donated, said Assistant Chief Lee S. Cooke.

The lights are being given out to Milford families free at fire headquarters, 72 New Haven Ave. Residents can pick up the lights between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. through Friday.

On Saturday, all the firehouses in the city will distribute the lights between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

The lights also can be picked up at the Milford Bank, 33 Broad St., and branch offices in Devon and Woodmont during regular business hours, Cooke said.

Meanwhile, the Police Department is asking families to not send their children out on Halloween night at all. Family parties are a better option, said officer Vaughan Dumas, spokesman for the department.

It's true that blinking lights make walking in the dark safer, but they do nothing for the other dangers of Halloween, Dumas said.

He was referring to malicious acts toward children, like putting foreign objects in candy.

The department will increase its vigilance during the Halloween season to watch for mischief as well, Dumas said. The department is urging children to not participate in Mischief Night and is reminding parents of the criminal charges that could follow.

The largest organized group of parents in the city is the PTA Council. It has no opinion on whether to trick-or-treat, said Lynne Costen, president of the group.

"It's a family time," she said. "It's up to the individual family."