burning candles

[Kathy in MD]

To all that burn candles in your homes… please, please be very careful…do not leave them unattended. My sister almost lost her house yesterday. Luckily her husband was home, when the smoke detector went off. When he ran into the breakfast room the flames were already up to the ceiling, a small section of the rug was on fire, and the whicker table and whicker couch were burning. He used a fire extinguisher to put out the fire. There was minimal damage but it could have been much worse.
What they believe happened was in her rush to find her purse she was throwing around clothes and accidentally knocked over the jar candle.

[bubbba]

Yikes you have to be very careful with candles although I cant really boast of my own record of candle safety i once managed to light my head on fire (was ok) when i was reading by candle light and fell asleep. LOL not one of my better moments.

[Rita]

I saw a report in the news that house fires from candles have increased tremendously in the last few years. Your caution is well worth repeating! Rita in TN

[Terri]

Where I live, someone looses their home about once a year from using candles.

What usually happens is, the power is out for some reason. A candle is lit because the kids are afraid of the dark. Everyone goes to sleep.

A dog might bump the table leg, and a cat might play in the dancing shadows.Basically, the family pet knocks the candle over.

A candle is a wonderful thing, but I have always been carefull with them.

[Mike in Ohio]

We burn our candles in sconces (with glass covers). If someone isn't in the cabin we do not have them lit.

Mike

[jassytoo]

When I was a kid and I stayed with my grandparents, who had no elect., they used to put a small candle on a saucer and floated it in a basin of water. It was in my bedroom to light it until I fell asleep. I guess if anything had bumped it, the candle would have been put out in the water.

[Dances In Woods]

Another safety tip...is always trim your wicks trimmed short each time before using. Candles should always be placed where pets/children/adults can't get to them or knock them over.
Also, I keep several drops of water in a container then when the candle burns down the water will put it our plus you can just pull it right out.

[dla]

Candles are popular.
We had heard a lot of warnings from the fire dept. about the increase in house fires from this source.
The somebody used a charcoal grill on the deck too close to the house. You guessed it. From siding to house to gone. Thing was, it was a fireman's house! No kidding. So it is a good warning to be super careful - anyone can forget...

[Ladyhen]

I've also heard the gel candles can ignite.

[jillianjiggs]

Just a couple weeks ago, an elderly family friend lost her home because of a candle she had lit. Somehow, the candle toppled over in the back of the house, and she was in the front. She didn't realize that there was a fire (carbon monoxide does that to you), and was pulled out just in time by two construction workers from the school across the street. Almost everything, down to her clothing, was ruined.

Last year, my husbands family (his aunt and uncle) were burning candles on their mantle Christmas Eve. They fell asleep and forgot to blow out the candle. The candle caught a dried flower wreath on fire, and the entire wall was gone before the family woke up.