Candles Lead to House Fire!

Great reminder.  I have found candles burning more than a few times when showing homes.  I always blow them out and call the listing agent to give them a heads up about what the seller did.  So sorry about your niece's house.

Your poor neice!!!  How horrible but at least no one was hurt.   Last St Patricks Day I had a family who did not want a last minute showing on their home.  I convinced them to go out for an hour and allow the showing.  About 45 minutes later I received a phone call from the Fire Dept wanting a cell number for the home owners as their house was engulfed in flames!  They managed to rescue the dog and cats that were still inside but the house was destroyed.   All I could think was they left candles burinng to combat the dinner odours and that I had insisted they leave for this showing.  Their young cat was always rubbing on the glass jar candles when I was there.  The fire department confirmed it was the wiring thank goodness and that it could have surged at anytime.  It was lucky they were not home and in their beds! 

Dear Darla,

This is so important! I think sometimes we don't take the time to educate our clients.

Candles are nice, but must be attended. A seller should not leave the candles on, if he will be away from the home for any amount of time.

A good agent will check it out, if they notice them. If you are showing during the day, you might not even see them.

Candles should be in a glass container and not close to anything flammable.

I was having a Christmas open house- candles were everywhere! Most of my guests had gone, but several lingered in the dining room.

My cat had been hiding, but now the number of people suited her. She walked around the windows and set her tail on fire! Fortunately, one of my guests was an animal person and checked her out.

She was fine, but terrified, as was I.

So sorry about your nieces place.

Darla - How horrible and at least no one was hurt, but it's a great reminder for us all.

Ive shown houses before that had candles going when we walked. .  I once blew everyone out that we passed and recieved a very angry call from the Listing agent?  I now just leave the candles lit if they were lit when I walk in. 

I had to host Christmas Eve this year and the candles became a hazard.  They looked good, but we opted to blow them out and have our fun, there were to many kids aound to mess with them. 

Candles are great and smell great until they burn down your house!   I yell at my wife for forgetting about candles, and she yells at me for yelling at her about candles.  As much as I like candles, they are dangerous. 

Sorry for your neices loss. Im also glad to hear that she only lost her home and not her life! 

I love candles but never would intentionally leave them burning while not at home.

Yeah, people leave them burning quite often, I always wonder, aren't they worried?

It does create a nice atmosphere when the seller stages the home for mood and showings, complete with burning candles, soft neutral music and good lighting, but ohhh so dangerous to leave candles burning!