Candles in the wind, safety hazard

Pushpa Girimaji

When I saw media reports about a couple from Delhi receiving burn injuries as a result of a candle lighted at the reception of a hotel in Gurugram, I was reminded of a somewhat similar experience I had in a spa. They had kept a lot of candles around as part of aroma therapy and one of them fell on me, causing burn injuries. Are many accidents caused by candles in India? How can we prevent them?

We do not have statistical data on fires started by candles. However, as the use of candles is increasing, we need to be highly conscious of the dangers inherent in their use and must take adequate precautions.

As a general rule, candles should always be placed at such spots where people do not accidentally come in contact with them — this is particularly important in public places. Similarly, they should be kept on non-inflammable, stable, flat surfaces, so that they do not start a fire or fall on someone. They are also to be kept away from flammable objects like curtains, furniture and paper. In fact, in 2016, a television actor in Mumbai received burn injuries on her hands and neck from a fire started by a candle kept in her bedroom. The curtains in the bedroom first caught fire and then spread.

It is also extremely important to keep candles away from balloons and I specifically refer to birthday parties here, where balloons are deployed in large numbers and could well explode if filled with the highly combustible hydrogen gas. In April this year, a young girl from Mysuru, Karnataka, suffered serious burn injuries on her hand and face. She was lighting a sparkling candle on her birthday cake when a spark touched one of the many hydrogen-filled balloons around her, resulting in an explosion.

One also needs to be careful of unusually high flames. In July last year, a resident of Texas, USA, suffered burn injuries on her face when she tried to blow out a vanilla scented candle. Apparently, she found the flame unusually high and decided to blow it out. She tried to do so twice and failed and on the third attempt, it just blew up in her face. It’s safer to extinguish the flame with a pair of tweezers or pincers, just push the wick down until it is fully submerged in the liquid wax. This way you will also not get that unpleasant smoke or smell when the flame is killed. Later, you can pull up the wick.

As a high flame is not safe, it is best to trim the wick to one quarter of an inch before lighting the candle. This will ensure that the flame does not become too big. It is also better to extinguish the candle when there is still some wax left — about half an inch if it is in a container and about two inches if it is without a container. It is also good to turn it off if it repeatedly flickers, smokes or the flame is too high.

Keep the candles in well-ventilated rooms, but away from drafts and flammable substances. And always extinguish the candle when you leave the room or go to sleep.

Today you get candles in all shapes and sizes and in a wide variety of containers. So, choose candles whose shapes give them stability and, therefore, are less likely to fall. Also, choose those with a well-centred wick. If it is stuck to a side, there is every possibility of the burning wick coming in close contact with the sidewalls of the container and damaging or breaking it. And if you use candles for long periods, buy only natural candles made of bees wax, without artificial colours or fragrance.

Recently I bought some Chinese candles, but they did not indicate the price on the package nor the address of the manufacturer. The shopkeeper said such package information is exempted for imported goods. Is this correct?

No. Under the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, all pre-packed goods meant for retail sale should indicate the MRP as well as the name and address of the manufacturer. If it is an imported product, the name and address of the importer has to be mentioned. Please complain to the department of legal metrology.