Safely Burning Candles

Keep your personal time special (and safe)

Candles can be a special part of a holiday tradition , celebration, a romantic dinner or atmosphere.   Never forget that you're dealing with an open flame.

Use these reminders to keep yourself, your family and your guests safe:

• Never leave a burning candle unattended. This is especially important if you have children or pets in your home.
• Place your candles well out of reach of children and pets; and don't let teens burn candles in their bedroom.
• Keep candles at least 12 inches from anything that will burn and away from a draft. Many fires are started when a moving curtain touches the flame.
• Use sturdy, safe, candleholders and place your candles on an uncluttered surface where they won't be bumped or brushed against.
• Avoid using candles with combustible materials (pinecones, twigs, etc.) embedded in the wax.
• It's very dangerous to use a candle as light to look into a closet or when fueling equipment such as lanterns or kerosene heaters. The flame could ignite the vapors.
• During a power outage, use flashlights, battery-operated lamps and glow sticks rather than candles for light.
• Place candles at least 3" away from each other to ensure they don't melt one another or burn unevenly.
• Discard taper and pillar candles when they burn to 2" from the candle holder. Votive and container candles should be extinguished before the last 1/2" of wax melts.
• Consider electric or battery-operated candles as an alternative.

Adhering to these tips will prevent your home from becoming a statistic with the National Fire Protection Association.

• Thirty-eight percent (38%) of home candle fires started in the bedroom, resulting in 41% of the associated deaths.
• Falling asleep was a factor in 12% of home candle fires and 26% of the associated deaths.
• The top five days for home candle fires are Christmas, Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day and Halloween.