During fall, the glow of orange lights, gentle whispers of inflatable fans and plenty of plastic skeletons join the mix of fallen autumn leaves on the ground.

As Halloween approaches, many folks look to start decorating their houses. For some, it’s a yearly tradition.

“It’s a lot of work, I’ve been working on it for three weeks now and it just grows and grows and grows year after year.” Says Lezlee Nelson of Superior. Her annual display consists of lights, several inflatables, and even some home built motorized decoration. Naturally, she says, Halloween is her favorite holiday.

But before you string up the lights, fire departments want to make sure you’re doing things the right way. Superior Fire Department’s Assistant Fire Inspector Cam Kalan spoke on the importance of electrical safety to prevent fires.

“Try not to overload your outlets and extension cords. Try to use your surge protectors.” Kalan said. Surge protected power will cut power should anything happen and are easily identified by the switch near the cord.

Kalan says that electrical fires typically don’t result from lots of lights, but rather damaged, or improperly used extension cords, he recommends checking yours for damage, and making sure you’re using the right type.

“With the outdoor lighting, I would say the big thing is probably using outdoor rated extension cord and a GFCI outlet.”

GFCI, or ground-fault circuit interrupter, are outlets that, like surge protectors, cut power incase of an electrical fault – typically water. You might find these in your kitchen or especially your bathroom. GFCI outlets have two small buttons on them marked “test” and “reset” and are important for outdoor applications.

“Just in case you do get any moisture intrusion in there, they’ll be able to shut the circuit off and prevent, hopefully, any sparks or fires.” Kalan explained.