Halloween Burn Victim

Remains in Fair Condition

By Andrew Gorosko

The 7-year-old Gopher Road boy, who was severely burned while trick-or-treating on Halloween night, was listed in fair condition Thursday morning in Bridgeport Hospital, where he is recovering from the third-degree burns that he suffered to his face, head, neck, and hands when his Halloween costume ignited after coming into contact with an open candle flame.

Cary DeYoung of 9 Gopher Road remained in fair condition on Thursday, the same condition that he was in one week earlier. Cary is a student at Hawley School. He is the son of Neal and Suzanne DeYoung.

While trick-or-treating at 1 Gopher Road, Cary, who was wearing a loose-fitting costume, came into contact with a candle flame on the home’s front porch, causing his costume to quickly ignite.

The incident occurred at the home of Richard and Linda Reyes. After seeing that the boy’s costume had caught fire, Mr Reyes, 53, attempted to put out the flames and in doing so, received severe, third-degree burns on his hands. Mr Reyes initially was transported to Danbury Hospital, after which he was transferred to Bridgeport Hospital’s burn unit, where he was treated for his burns and released the following day.

Fire Marshal Bill Halstead said this week that the investigation into the incident, conducted by Deputy Fire Marshal Henry Stormer, was turned over to investigators for the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on November 5.

There was no criminal act involved, Mr Halstead said. “It’s really a consumer issue,” he said of the Halloween costume igniting and injuring the boy.

It is unclear how long the CPSC investigation will take, he said. If the costume manufacturer is found to be at fault in some regard, the costume could be recalled or fines could be levied.

“We want to make sure that any product like this [costume] is safe to be on the market,” Mr Halstead said. He urged parents who buy such costumes for their children to closely read any warning labels on the products concerning flammability.