Candle Safety

Home candle fires are also more common during the winter months. Find out how to protect your family from them.

Candles & House Fires

Candle fires are more common around the holidays because more people use candles and decorations are often near them. Candle fires peak on Christmas Day, followed by New Year's Day and Christmas Eve. Home candle fires are also more common during the winter months.

Helpful Resources

Candle fires usually happen when a candle is left unattended, abandoned, or inadequately controlled. One in four times, something that catches fire easily was left too close to the flame.

Follow these safety resources to help prevent candle fires and accidents in your home:

Candles and Children

Candle Safety

Children sometimes can cause house fires when they play with candles left unattended. Help keep your child safe by keeping these tips in mind:

• Keep candles high out of reach of children.
• Never leave a child unattended in a room with a candle. Children should not sleep in rooms with lit candles.
• Don't allow children or teens to have candles in their bedrooms.
• Store candles, matches, and lighters up high and out of children's sight and reach, preferably in a locked cabinet.

General Safety Tips

• Extinguish all candles when leaving the room or going to sleep.
• Keep candles away from items that can catch fire, including clothing, books, paper, curtains, Christmas trees, and flammable decorations.
• Use candle holders that are sturdy, won't tip over easily, are made from a material that can't burn, and are large enough to collect dripping wax.
• Don't place lit candles in windows where blinds and curtains can close over them.
• Place candle holders on a sturdy, uncluttered surface that are not in places where children or pets can knock them over.
• Keep candles and all open flames away from flammable liquids.
• Keep candle wicks trimmed to a quarter of an inch.
• Extinguish taper and pillar candles when they get to within two inches of the holder or decorative materials.
• Extinguish votives and containers before the last half an inch of wax starts to melt.
• Avoid candles with items embedded in them.
• During power outages:

• Try to avoid carrying a lit candle
• Don't use a lit candle to search for things in a confined space
• Do not use a candle for a light when checking pilot lights or fueling equipment such as kerosene heaters or lanterns because the flame may light the fumes

Contact

For more information about candle safety, contact the Fire Department at 617-972-6512.