Beyond the Candle: Keeping Your Family Safe Around Open Flames

There are a lot of winter holidays being celebrated over the next two months. For many people, their celebrations or decorations will involve candles. Whether it’s a single flame or a candle, they all present the same beauty of a shared tradition, as well as the fears that come with an open flame. These days, many people have switched to electric candles or LED bulbs instead of open flames. But if you do choose to usual actual candles to enjoy your holiday, here are some tips to keep your house safely alight with the flames of celebration.

Never leave an open flame unattended.

This includes not going to bed while a candle is burning, not leaving the house, and most optimally not leaving the room with the candle is lit.

Watch out for “flowing” things.

If a candle is window, make sure the curtains or drapes are pulled back. Also, if someone has long hair, the hair should not be near the flame. Lastly, if the candles are on a tablecloth, the tablecloth should not be moving a lot on the table. All of these items could knock the flame over or cause something else to catch on fire.

Keep candles away from children and pets.

This goes without saying, but if your pet can jump up on the table or window sill, or your child can pull down any candle holder from any point, it’s probably not in a location for it to continue burning safely.

Only light candles in a well-ventilated room.

By putting your candles in rooms with a draft, or in the way of a fan or air conditioning vent, you ric the flame getting blown to something else that may pick up the flame as the wind pushes it away from the wick.

Use your candles wisely.

Some quick tips for safe candle use include trimming the wick to ¼ inch tall before lighting, making sure the candle is in a sturdy holder or on a safe non-flammable surface, and putting out the flame with a candle snuffer to prevent the accidental spreading of hot wax. For more candle safety tips, check out this page at the National Candle Association. Get Locksmith will be posting more holiday safety tips throughout the season, so check back here regularly to learn more!