Candle Causes Garage Fire

15/08/2012

 

A candle that had been left in a garage in Eccleshall sparked a fire late last night.

"The important reminder here is to please ensure you only use candles with a suitable holder and or base and double-check they are properly extinguished before leaving unattended."

Firefighters from Eccleshall and Stafford were called to the property on Stafford Road at 11.10pm last night.
The occupier had lit a candle whilst sitting out enjoying the warm weather last night then, believing she’d extinguished it, left it on a metal container on top of a chest freezer in the garage.
The garage is attached to the house and was also being used to store LPG cylinders and other flammable materials.

Station Manager, Dermot Hogan said: "The candle had been lit earlier in the evening and used in the garden, it was the type of candle designed to keep bugs away. The lady then thought she’d extinguished it and so left it in the garage.
"However, unbeknownst to her, the candle continued to burn and the heat from it eventually transferred from the metal base it was placed in and sparked a fire involving the chest freezer.

"The fire spread to some other items in the garage but luckily smoke alarms alerted her to the problem before the fire could develop. She managed to put the fire out herself using a hose pipe from the garden just before we arrived.

"The important reminder here is to please ensure you only use candles with a suitable holder and or base and double-check they are properly extinguished before leaving unattended.
"We would also advise against people tackling fires themselves, in this instance the woman was able to put the fire out herself without coming to harm but it’s always best to leave it to the professionals."

From @firecomply