Unattended Candle Apparent Culprit
in Early Morning Fire
by Judy Silberstein
(November 4, 2002
) It was quite early Sunday morning when the Larchmont
Fire Department responded to a smoky apartment fire
at 1912 Palmer Avenue. An alert neighbor, smelling smoke,
called in the alarm at 12:23 am. A minute later at 12:24,
the Department was on the scene of the fire, which was
apparently ignited by an unattended candle..
“When we arrived,” said Fire Chief Brian
Payne, "There was a noticeable odor of smoke on
the first floor, visible smoke on the second, and the
door to the first apartment on the left tested hot.”
The firefighters evacuated the building, stretched the
hoses, and popped open the hot door using a special
hydraulic tool.
 “Inside
Apartment 3, the firefighters quickly extinguished a
small fire on the walls and the bureau where a candle
had been left burning unattended. Damage from a red
candle dripping wax down the side of a wooden bureau
is apparent in the photo (left) taken by Deputy Fire
Chief Tom Broderick. The tenant arrived on the scene
as the firefighters were finishing operations.
The fire damage was confined to the one apartment.
In this case no one – not even the dog found in
the apartment bathroom – sustained injuries. However,
Chief Payne cautioned, “Another five minutes and
this would have been a totally different fire. –
a lot bigger.”
Candles,
aroma candles and incense are the fashionable things
to do, but they are very dangerous, even when people
are home,” advised Chief Payne. “If there’s
an animal, or for whatever reason they tip over, the
burning candle can ignite whatever’s underneath.”
According to the Consumer
Product Safety Commission, since 1980 “Deaths
from fires caused by candles have increased more than
700 percent.” Nationally deaths in residential
fires have been cut in half (from 4,500 in 1980 to 2,660
in 1998) but those caused by candles have sky-rocketed
750% (from 20 in 1980 to 170 in 1998).
If you are going to burn candles or incense, be sure
to put them out if you leave, even if it’s only
for a few minutes,” stressed Chief Payne. “These
candle fires are fires that should never have been started
in the first place.”
Send
this page to a friend
Discuss this topic in our forums,
or send a letter
to the editors.
| 