Countless injuries could be prevented this Hallowe'en if parents and children adopt a responsible attitude to fireworks and bonfires, according to the National Safety Council.
With Hallowe'en just two days away, the council reissued its seasonal advice on fire safety - advice that is alarmingly ignored by many people each year.
"Accident and emergency departments of hospitals nationwide receive an influx of children with injuries inflicted by the misuse of fireworks at this time every year, injuries which can be prevented," Mr Pat Costello, the council's chief executive, said yesterday.
He recommended that parents discourage the use of fireworks which were both illegal and dangerous. As for bonfires, while they were traditional at Hallowe'en, "they can be extremely dangerous. Parents should make sure bonfires only take place under adult supervision in a safe area, away from houses, overhead cables and fireworks," he said.
The most common Hallowe'en injuries are those to the hand, which can lead to the amputation of fingers or parts of fingers, plastic surgery or skin-grafting. Explosions can also cause blast injuries to the face and eyes, as well as loss of hearing, while petrol thrown on bonfires can cause them to flare up and set fire to clothes, causing severe burns.
The Garda Ballistics Section gave a graphic demonstration of the effects of fireworks last week, using a chicken leg to show what could happen if a banger went off in a child's hand (see above).
As well as dealing with Hallowe'en injuries, gardaí this week are expecting to have to manage an increase in public order offences around bonfires, and other public gatherings.
The emergency services aren't the only ones predicting a busy Hallowe'en. The baking trade is gearing up for a traditional seasonal boom, with Allied Bakeries Ireland expecting a doubling of sales of its Sunblest fruit loaves and barm bracks over the period.
Superquinn said it was engaged in a "frenzied baking operation" to produce 125,000 bracks for the season. It said it would take 320 bakers, more than 30 million sultanas, 600,000 cherries, 500,000 walnuts and a million pieces of mixed peel to make the bracks, each of which, in accordance with tradition, would have a ring hidden inside.
Meanwhile, the Food Safety Promotion Board (FSPB) has urged children and parents to eat healthy foods traditionally associated with the holiday period rather than gorging on the more modern fare of chocolates and sweets.
Highlighting the nutritional value of nuts, oranges, apples and pumpkins, nutritionist Ms Claire MacEvilly said fruit and vegetables contained not only a range of vitamins and minerals but phytochemicals, or plant chemicals, and fibre, "both of which keep us healthy no matter what age".
Pumpkins are said to be loaded with an important antioxidant, known as beta-carotene, which is converted into vitamin A in the body. Research indicates that a diet rich in foods containing beta-carotene may reduce the risk of developing certain types of the cancer and protect against heart disease.
Pumpkin seeds are said to have a high vegetable protein content, and to be rich in antioxidant vitamins A, C and E.
Of nuts, the board said a popular myth was that they were fattening. "In reality, research has shown that nuts - in their natural form - actually play an important role in curbing hunger, reducing the tendency to overeat and thereby to gain weight."
Peanuts - the unsweetened, unsalted and unflavoured variety - were shown "to satisfy hunger up to five times longer than many high-carbohydrate snacks".
• Weblinks: www.nsc.ie; www. safefoodonline.com
