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- Since the fake house fire was put up on the Pirates of the Caribbean display on 3 October, Riverside Fire Department has received several calls from concerned passers-by.
- They now let the fire department know when they plan to turn the fire so the dispatch system knows to avoid unnecessary visits.
- Up to 300 people now gather outside the home to watch the display from Friday to Sunday night between 7-9pm with the family happy to “help bring a little Halloween joy for everyone.”
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Spectacular Halloween decorations at a home in Riverside, California, are so realistic that people have been calling 911 to report the house on fire.
Carmen and Travis Long’s fake house fire is based on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at nearby Disneyland but since putting it on display on 3 October, Riverside Fire Department received several calls from concerned passers-by.
In fact, the fire department even “rolled an engine out there once,” Phil Pitchford, spokesman for the city of Riverside told the LA Times.
Carmen Long, speaking to ABC News, said: “Initially they thought it was a real fire. They got out of the truck walked around, gave my husband a high-five and said ‘great job.'”
Although the Longs have lived in the neighborhood since 2001, they only started going all-out for Halloween when they moved into their current home in 2017, according to the New York Post.
Mrs Long told ABC News: "We've been adding things every year. It started with just skeletons, then we added a cannon in the back, the ship and the pretend fire on the side. It's just satin cloth, an orange light, a red light, and a fan."
They have now taken to letting the fire department know when they plan to turn the fire on while the fire department has taken a note of their address in their dispatch system to avoid any unnecessary visits, ABC News reported.
Crowds of up to 300 people now gather outside the home on at the corner of Chapman Place and Magnolia Avenue from Friday to Sunday between 7-9pm, the family told ABC-TV Channel 7
They added that they were happy to "help bring a little Halloween joy for everyone" in a particularly challenging year.