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Valentine’s Day by Candle Light

Valentines Day by Candle Light
Setting the mood for Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s by Candle Light

Once again St. Valentine’s day is upon us. Some of us will be out enjoying candlelit meals, some will be at home enjoying some private time with their wives and partners and some will be at home enjoying a microwave meal for one. Whatever we end up doing with our evening and whatever arises in the heat of the moment it is important that we remember to be safe. Where am I going with this? Well, obviously I’m talking about fire safety, this is a fire safety blog after all!

Setting the Mood

It’s a cold evening, snow is settling outside and you’ve created the perfect romantic setting for the one you love. A warm bath with rose petals floating and candle light flickering… a three course meal, scattered rose petals on the table, candle light shimmering away… or maybe for those of us that have gone for the more relaxed approach, a bunch of roses and Eastenders by candle light. You may have noticed that all these scenarios have one thing in common and that is what I want to talk about today… Roses! Just kidding, it’s candles of course! (fire safety, remember?)

Some Candle Stati-Sticks

So we have deciphered that candles are the perfect tool for creating a romantic setting and we all know that they can provide a good source of light when all else fails, but the question is: how safe are they? Without the proper care and attention candles can be fatal.

Naturally, any unattended naked flame has the potential to start a fire but how many potentially fatal fires in Great Britain are started by candles? Fire statistics from the ‘Department for Communities and Local Government’ show that in the year 2011/2012:

  • 952 accidental dwelling fires were caused by candles which led to
  • 9 fatal casualties and
  • 388 non fatal casualties

Fires ignited by candles accounted for 2.5% of accidental dwelling fires, caused 3.5% of home fire deaths and 5% of non-fatal injuries. Although these figures may seem quite low the rate of non-fatal casualties caused by candle-related accidental dwelling fires is the second highest of all accidental dwelling fires, calculated at 408 per 1000 fires.

Precautions

So now we have seen the figures relating to fatal and non-fatal fires caused by candles it should be easy for us to understand the importance of applying due care and attention when using candles for any purpose. Of course I’m not suggesting that you to boycott candles altogether, just that you use them in a safe and responsible manner. So, what are the the important things to consider when using candles? Well…

The Important Things to Consider When Using Candles

  • Never leave burning candles unattended: put them out when leaving the room and ensure that they are completely extinguished before leaving the house or going to bed.
  • Place your candles carefully: away from flammable objects such as curtains, furniture and books, and on a stable surface out of reach from children and pets.
  • Don’t move lit candles: make sure they are extinguished and have cooled to a suitable temperature before moving them.
  • Don’t place candles too close together: several candles close together can cause the flames to flare, try to position them at a suitable distance apart.
  • Use them in a well ventilated room away from draughts: this will help to prevent rapid uneven burning and reduce the risk of flames spreading.
  • Always use a candle holder: make sure the holder is heat resistant, sturdy and large enough to contain any drips of melted wax.
  • Keep the melted wax around the wick clear: debris such as matches and wick trimmings can catch fire.
  • Don’t allow a candle to burn all the way down: a general rule of thumb is to extinguish a candle before it reaches 1 inch remaining.
  • Extinguish a candle if the flame flickers erratically or becomes too high.
  • Extinguish a Candle using a candle snuffer: blowing out candles can cause hot wax to splatter.
  • Never use water to extinguish a candle: water can cause a candle flame to flare and could cause melted wax to splatter.
  • Make sure you have a working smoke alarm: a working smoke detection or fire alarm system can give you enough warning to evacuate the building and call the fire brigade should a fire occur.

Hopefully after reading this you will treat candles with a little more respect than you may have done previously. Remember to always make sure you have a good fire detection system in place, but remember, a fire detection system is useless if it doesn’t work – make sure it is tested regularly, it could one day save your life.

So remember… if your using candles to set the mood this Valentine’s day (or at any other time!) treat them with respect and take precautions – if you can’t be good, be safe! (still talking about candles!)

Discount Fire Supplies sells a range of smoke and fire detection systems for the home and business. If you are in need of any help or advice on what the best system for you is then please do not hesitate to contact us.