National Fire Prevention Week is just warming up with a warning to “Use Candles with Care.”
Fire Prevention Week was established in 1925 by President Calvin Coolidge. It commemorates the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 that destroyed over 17,000 buildings and took the lives of more than 250 people. This deadly fire alerted the nation that it needed to rethink its fire safety and prevention techniques.
The theme for this year, “Using Candles with Care,” stems from rising statistics of candle fires in the home. Two out of every five candle fires in the home start in the bedroom and in December, candle fires dramatically increase due to holiday activities.
“There have been more than a few candle fires in Johnson City,” said Lori Ratliff, assistant fire marshal. “Most of the time its candles that are left unattended and knocked over by children or animals.”
Some candle tips from a pamphlet promoting Fire Prevention Week are using large, sturdy candle holders that won’t tip easily and can collect all hot wax, keeping candles a foot away from anything flammable (especially bedding and curtains), and not placing candles in doorways or windows where a draft can blow the flame onto something combustible.
The pamphlet also advises against burning candles in the bedroom, where almost half of home candle fires begin. If you must burn a candle in the bedroom, monitor it carefully and keep away from clothing piles and magazines.
For ETSU students, candles aren’t the only hazard. Cooking in the dorm and careless smoking habits has lead to several calls to the fire department.
“We’ve had quite a few issues with students leaving their cooking unattended and it catching fire,” said Ratliff.
Ratliff also reports problems with students pulling the fire alarms maliciously, especially in Campus Ridge. Pulling a fire alarm is a misdemeanor and is taken seriously by the police and fire department.
“When you pull a fire alarm, we are required to investigate it, regardless of whether it turns out to be a real fire or not,” she said. “A false alarm delays us and if a real fire is occurring somewhere else, it could get people killed.”
However, Ratliff advises to never ignore a fire alarm.
“Take the alarm seriously and get out,” she said. “Recently, there have been fires on other campuses where the students have gotten complacent and waited until it was too late.”
For more information, go to www.nfpa.org or call Ratliff at 434-6184.

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