My Halloween costume caught fire – and it’s affected my whole life

This is a guest post by Amy Meadows. All views expressed are Amy’s own and not necessarily shared by Which?. 

On the evening of 28 October 2006, aged 13, I was preparing for a Halloween party at a friend’s house – I had no idea how events that night would change my life.

I threw on a Halloween costume I’d purchased that day from a known supermarket – I was going as a vampire, complete with long black wig and nylon, abd tattoo patterned sleeves.

Read the full results of our testing here

We arrived at the party and were welcomed by the family – they had gone all out for the occasion and decorated all of the walls with cobwebs and created a spooky atmosphere with dim lighting and candles placed on coffee tables. That’s when my life changed forever.

My costume caught alight

As I went to place a glass in the kitchen, my costume caught alight off one of the candles and flames raced up my sleeve and towards my head.

I screamed ‘It’s on me! It’s on me!’, as the fire licked up my arm and I raced for the door.

I fled to the corridor and ripped the burning costume off my body and stamped out the flames, still screaming in pain.

We tested the flammability of 20 Halloween costumes and found that 10% failed to meet the legal safety guidelines. We are calling for manufacturers and retailers to only create and stock costumes that meet the strictest level of flammability testing → https://t.co/mvkVp3Xi0K … pic.twitter.com/BvmCUHrErn

— Which? (@WhichUK) October 26, 2018

A neighbour heard the commotion and ran out to help me. He carried me back inside the apartment and held me inside a cold shower, keeping me talking, and keeping me conscious until more help arrived.

They covered my burns

The fire brigade was on the scene first and covered my burns with cool cloths, before wrapping me in their coats and calling for an ambulance.

I was extremely cold and frightened, and it was only the pain that was reminding me that it was real and not just a bad dream.

Two weeks later I was still in hospital, having undergone 3 surgeries to clean the burns and remove the dead skin before it could be grafted using skin taken from my leg.

My right arm and down my back were the worst effected areas as the costume had melted onto my skin, resulting in full-thickness burns.

Afraid to show my scars

The treatments I’ve had were painful and lasted many years. Two years on from the accident I was still visiting the hospital twice a week for physiotherapy.

11 years later, I’ve had a skin release surgery from my shoulder to my elbow as the grafts were tight and restricting movement. 12 years on and I’m still afraid to show my scars in public for fears of people staring and commenting.

According to the Children’s Burns Trust, burn injuries cost the NHS an estimated £20million per year, but their cost to victims and their families cannot be measured in money, only time. They are life-affecting.

This is a guest post by Amy Meadows. All views expressed are Amy’s own and not necessarily  shared by Which?.

We’re urging manufacturers and retailers to adopt the BRC code as a standard. Any items that fail fire safety tests must be removed from sale and discontinued immediately.

Do you check the labelling before you buy items like this? Will Amy’s story affect the way you shop in future?