7 Tips For Preventing Candle Fires
Michael Babboni
Personal Injury
There is nothing like a dinner by candlelight or maybe you just love the smell of your lavender scented candle. Either way, candles are a wonderful way to add to the mood of the room. However every year, an average of 370,000 reported home fires result in around $7 billion in damages and candles are the top reason. Even a small candle can quickly escalate into a huge fire if you aren’t careful. Though candles smell wonderful, there are some important safety tips you need to keep in mind.1) Keep candles away from your children and pets!
While candles certainly look nice and add a little ambiance to the room, all it takes is a child or dog to run by for it to tip over. If you have children or pets around to worry about, choose where you put the candle carefully and never leave it unattended even for a moment with them racing around.
2) Keep your matches and lighters in a safe place!
As much as we would love to believe that our children would never play with matches and lighters, kids are naturally curious. In fact, children playing with lighting material accounts for the number 5 top reason for house fires. Any lighting material should be stored high and out of sight in a kitchen cupboard, pantry or even a closet.
3) Avoid using candles in the bedroom!
Around one-third of all fires begin in the bedroom and one-half of fire deaths happen sometime between midnight and 6 am. As romantic as it may be to bring some candlelight into the bedroom, it won’t be pleasant to see it all go up in flames.
4) Have candle holders on hand!
Candles can come in several different sizes and you need to have the right-size holder for the ones you are planning to burn. It is also important that candle holders are placed on durable heat-resistant surfaces and to keep them away from anything that could be flammable.
5) Toss the candle if the wax is lower than 2 inches!
Replacing a candle more frequently costs far less than having to replace your home. That’s why you shouldn’t let the candle burn too close to the holder. Once the wax is 2 inches or lower, it is simply time to toss it out and get yourself a new one.
6) Avoid using water to extinguish the candle!
Hot wax can splatter in all directions if doused with water and the temperature change can sometimes cause the glass container to crack or break. So as you can imagine, doing either could be quite dangerous. Consider using a snuffer to extinguish the candle instead.
7) Always keep an eye on the candle!
Don’t leave a candle in an unattended room for any significant amount of time. If you know it might be awhile before you can return to the room, blow it out. You can always light it up again when you return if you still wish to enjoy the scent or the ambiance of the candle.