24/7 Emergency Service
Candle Safety During the Holidays and Throughout the Year
12/10/2018 (Permalink)
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
SERVPRO of Clifton
973-928-3705
Candles are a beautiful addition to any holiday decor, but if not properly used, they can be cause serious damage to your home. Candle fires are four times more likely to occur during the winter holidays than any other time throughout the year. The top 3 holidays for candle fires were Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day with the month of December being the peak month when candle fire incidents nearly doubled.
Following these candle safety tips to keep you and your family fire-safe during the holiday season and throughout the year:
- Use sturdy candle holders that won’t tip over easily and are made from a material that cannot burn, such as metal, ceramic or glass and are large enough to collect dripping wax.
- When lighting candles, be sure to keep your hair and loose clothing away from the flame.
- Protect candle flames with glass covers/chimneys or containers.
- Extinguish all candles when leaving the room or going to sleep.
- Keep candles at least 12 inches away from things that can burn/catch fire, like clothing, books, curtains, silk and dried flower arrangements, holiday decorations and Christmas trees.
- People are fascinated by a flickering candle and children and pets are no exception, therefore, keep children and pets away from burning candles.
- NEVER leave a child or pet unsupervised in a room with a lighted candle.
- Keep matches and lighters safely out of a child’s reach, preferably in a locked cabinet
- Keep candles and all open flames away from flammable liquids.
- NEVER use a candle when oxygen is present.
- Keep candle wicks trimmed to 1/4 inch and extinguish the flame when they get to within 2 inches of the holder.
- Votives and containers should be extinguished before the last ½ inch of wax starts to melt.
- For emergency lighting, use flashlights NEVER use candles.
Flameless candles are fire-safe, However when using flameless candles, remember to secure the battery compartment and keep them out of reach of children.