Candle Safety - Protect Your Home from a Fire

Candles have been in use since the biblical times as a way to light our way. Electricity replaced the need for wax candles as a means of light. But, candles are still used in homes today because many people like their aroma, warm glow, and the relaxed ambiance they give to a room.

Unfortunately, the rules of candle safety are often ignored when these wax sticks are ignited. That fact is shown in the rising number of house fires, injuries, and deaths that have resulted- and continue to happen- every day throughout the United States.

To follow the rules of candle safety, you should follow these important, yet simple, tips:

1. Never leave a candle burning if you exit your home. Once you light a candle, watch it closely to make sure the fire doesn't ignite another object.

2. Never allow children to play with or touch burning candles! Kids are often mesmerized by the warm glow of the flame.

3. Place a wax candle up and out of the reach of children and pets before you light it. To practice candle safety, make sure the location you choose for a candle is out of the way of drafts.

4. Think safety. Keep burning candles away from flammable objects, walls, ceilings, and floors. They should always be kept on a sturdy, level, fire-resistant surface.

5. Avoid burning candles that have flammable decorations attached to the candle or the container.

6. For the safety of your house and family, keep all candle wicks trimmed down properly to a quarter of an inch. This practice will keep the flame from getting too high.

7. Before you ignite a candle, make sure there are no foreign objects near the wick.

8. If you get hot, melted wax on your skin, rinse the area with cold water right away. Then, pick the wax off your skin and apply first aid to the burn.
9. Read and follow any manufacturer's instructions that come with any candles you buy or receive as gifts.

10. Don't lean over a burning candle, especially if you have long hair. Hair and other dangling objects can easily catch on fire if they come to close to the flame.

11. Practice candle safety and allows put candles out before you go to bed.

12. Teach children about candle safety and how important it is- it can save their life.

13. Never place burnt out matches, wick trimmings, or other items in the top of a candle.

14. Don't burn a candle down to its complete end. Instead, put out the flame when it reaches a half of an inch away from its end.

15. If you need to move a candle after it's been lit, carefully put the flame out first. If the candle is in a container, check to make sure it's not hot before you grab it.

16. If a wick in a candle needs to be straightened up, douse the flame first. Then use a non-flammable object to straighten the wick.

17. Candle safety involves keeping at least one working fire extinguisher in your house at all times.

18. Never use a candle if it's glass container is chipped, cracked, or otherwise damaged.

19. Remember- the more wicks a wax candle has, the hotter the combined flame will be. This type of candle will also burn down faster than a single-wick type.

20. Also, practice safety in your home by keeping matches and lighters out of the reach of children.