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(NBC News) -- Halloween is just around the corner, but as children try decide what will be the perfect costume, there's something parents should be aware of.
Halloween night, Joella Smith dressed her daughter Zoe in a store bought costume. But as Zoe was trick or treating, she passed too close to a lighted jack o lantern.
Zoe Smith, Burn Victim: "It was like fire, like all around me."
Zoe suffered first and third degree burns.
Joella Smith, Mother: "We went to the emergency room. They had to scrub the costume off the skin."
Dr. James Jeng knows first hand what burns can do. He runs the burn center at the Washington Hospital Center in Washington DC.
James Jeng, M.D., Washington Hosptial Center: "An open flame is an invitation to have an accident, and you mix that with people dressing up in costumes that they are not usually accustomed to wearing and it's a bit of a bad mix. The injuries that we are seeing are no longer just limited to children. We have actually had some severe adult injuries as well."
Costumes in their packages look cute, anything but menacing, some even come with a tag that says flame resistant or retardant. If a costume is flame resistant or retardant, if it comes in contact with fire and this flame is removed, the costume is supposed to stop burning.
With a Batman costume, when the flame was removed, the costume stopped burning. But we were not so lucky with some other packaged costumes. When we lit this cheerleader costume's rope-like trim, the costume burned up completely in less than three minutes. The foam on a ninja collar proved particularly flammable. In less than three minutes, the ninja costume is completely consumed by fire. Even a cute, plush lil monster costume for a toddler, was destroyed within three minutes by fire.
Experts say even homemade costumes can be a fire hazard. However, the Washington Hospital Center has a recipe for a homemade solution that can make costumes less flammable.
- Mix four ounces of boric acid with nine ounces of Borax.
- Dissolve in a gallon of warm water.
- Soak the costume and let it drip dry.
