trick or heat.
A spirited couple from South Carolina is asking their neighbors to stop dialing 911, claiming their elaborate Halloween setup makes it appear as though their home is ablaze.
Sam Lee and Amanda Riggins Peden recalled that the night they activated their striking decorations on October 3, the fire department received three or four emergency calls about a house fire.
The display features lights that resemble flickering orange flames in every window, with thick smoke wafting from under the porch.
Devoted Halloween fans have started posting videos of their own setups, hoping to avoid a flood of 911 calls during the spooky season. Neighbors have assured the couple that their display is merely an illusion for the festivities.
“Our house will be lit as a Halloween decoration (not a real fire) every night from 8pm to 10pm up until October 31st,” Peden stated. “Please don’t call the fire department again!”
Lee, a former mayor of Fountain Inn, shared that he has decorated his home, located about 20 miles from Greenville, for the past five years, but this year’s “firehouse” is his most ambitious endeavor yet.
Despite the excitement the display brings, the couple is aware that not everyone may appreciate it.
“Most people love it, but there’s always that 1 percent who are never pleased,” Lee remarked.
Peden added that her 15-year-old son enjoys seeing their home highlighted on TikTok.
Russell Alexander, the chief of the Fountain Inn Fire Department, noted that their department received around 30 calls about the home in October after the display was unveiled.
“Our first year, we were inundated with calls from passersby,” Alexander explained. “This year has been better, but we’ve still had a few calls from newcomers to the area.”
Even though he understands it’s just a decoration, Alexander maintains the protocol of sending a truck for every report to ensure safety.
“Not dispatching a truck is irresponsible, and I can’t accept that risk,” he stated. “Whenever we get a call, we will send help.”
Some viral TikTok videos of the display have garnered nearly 25 million views, prompting mixed feedback.
“This should definitely be illegal,” one viewer commented.
“It looks awesome, but honestly, it’s unsafe. What if there’s a real fire?” another person remarked.
Yet, some viewers were intrigued by the display’s realism.
One commenter expressed, “It’s so cool! But it looks so real! I might have been one of those people calling.” While another worried, “What if there really was a fire and nobody reported it thinking it was just decoration?”
Alexander reassured that typical Halloween displays don’t mimic real fires closely because smoke behaves differently and shifts in color.
As for Lee and Peden, they plan to continue their spooky traditions. In 2021, they showcased a crashed plane with skeleton passengers on their lawn, and the following year, they set up a mock car crash with an overturned van and a giant skeleton trapped inside.
“Every year it gets wilder and wilder,” Lee reflected.
