Candle safety tips to help prevent house fires

8/9/2020 (Permalink)

Should Fire strike your home or business, we at SERVPRO of Howell/Wall are here to help. Call us at 732-577-1010.

During the most recent natural disaster to hit our area, thousands of residents in the Southern Monmouth County and Jersey Shore lost power for days.  Most of us turned to candles to help light our homes on those dark nights. 

As a service to you, we at SERVPRO of Howell/Wall wanted to share a special list of important safety tips and statistics to help you understand how dangerous candles can be. 

Candle Statistics:

• 38% of home candle fires start in bedrooms and cause 35% of associated deaths. 
• More than 50% of all candle home fires start because the candle was too close to something flammable item (I.E. mattresses, bedding, curtains, cabinetry, or furniture are ignited). 
• In 12% of home candle fires and in 25% of associated deaths and injuries happened while the people in the home slept.
• 20 % of home candle fires involved unsupervised children. 
• Reduce your chances of dying in a fire by 50% by having a working smoke alarm.

Safety Tips:

• Keep all flames at minimum 12 inches from anything that can burn.  Whether it be curtains, bedding, mattresses, books, flammable decorations, clothing, furniture, and anything else that could catch fire,
• ALWAYS snuff out or blow out a candle or flame before leaving the room or going to sleep.
• If you are using candle holders, please make sure they are sturdy and can not tip over. Make sure your candle holders that are made from a material that do not burn.
• Make sure candles are placed out of the reach of children or pets, as well as in a place children and pets cannot knock them over.
• In an emergency, always use flashlights and not candles for light.
• Never leave a child unattended in a room with a candle. Additionally, keep all matches and lighters out of reach of children.
• Keep all lit candles and any other open flames away from flammable liquids.

Should disaster strike and you become the victim of a home fire, SERVPRO of Howell / Wall is here to help. We are your professional fire damage experts and specialize in fire and water restoration.  We can clean your content and home, demo effected areas and eliminate smoke odor from your home and in the end make it "Like it never even happened.” 

Call us 24 hours a day, 365 days a year at 732-577-1010.