Boo!

Halloween. All Hallow's Eve. Samhain. Whether you practice the ancient Celtic holiday or just dress up on October 31st, there are certain things you should not do when decorating your home for the fall holiday.

THE EMERGENCY

Cell phone caller reports flames in the window of a residential building.

THE ACTION

4:30 AM. We should have had 3-4 calls since I crawled into my sleeping bag and am rather well rested when the dorm came to life for a full box alarm. The Engine, Truck and Chief are all first due and only blocks away.

We're barely dressed when we pull up to the intersection and see flames in a window box outside a window on the fourth floor.

Airpacks go on as we see the truck get set to head for the roof and to the window in question when I see my boss do that head movement that can only be described as the RCA Dog tilt. His body language changed right then to a relaxed stance as he motioned for us to come to his side with one hand and began waving down the rising aerial ladder with the other.

As we looked, I mean really read the flames, we noticed...no smoke and the flames are neither growing nor receding, meaning the fire is not growing, moving or giving off gasses. Hmmm...

Then we looked closer at the window, noting not only no discoloration, but there are multiple paper Halloween decorations on the outside, slowly waving in the soft breeze of the early morning.

By this time the entire first alarm compliment had arrived and we can now see it is a small electric cauldron. A small fan is blowing fabric above a light, causing the appearance of fire.

Outside. In a planter box. At night. We get planter box fires often, what with discarded cigarettes and all. I just never expected someone so excited about modern Halloween celebration to put such an element outside a wooden frame building.