A mum has spoken out on social media after her whole house nearly burnt down as a result of two small tealights.
As someone who regularly takes photographs of all plug sockets, electrical equipment and kitchen appliances before leaving the house so that if a wave of anxiety suddenly comes over me that I've left my straighteners on, I can simply look at my camera roll rather than running all the way home, candles have now also been swiftly added to my list.
A woman has taken to Facebook to reveal how two tiny tealights gave her the 'fright of [her] life'.
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In the post, the woman explained she had simply been going about her daily routine, lighting a candle in her bathroom at around 7:30pm.
However, she noted she did use 'a new set of tea lights'.
She said: "Within 30 minutes of the candle being lit my smoke alarm sounded.
"I walked to the hallway where I could see smoke coming through the closed doorway."
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Upon opening the door, the mum was faced with 'a room full of thick black smoke' and she 'could not see a thing'.
"All of this from a small tealight candle," she reflected.
While the blaze was able to be extinguished by the fire service and her family are safe, the mum said she had 'the fright of [her] life' and is 'now left with having to try and clean and redecorate in the days to come'.
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She stressed: "My main concern is that other families have these candles in their homes and they may not be so lucky as I was I'm shaken."
Friends of the woman took to the post to thank her for raising awareness of the damage that even small tealight candles can do.
"I use tea lights in my wax burners all the time & just leave them. Glad everyone is ok & lesson learned for me," one said.
Another wrote: "Thank god everyone is ok. They can be very dangerous left unattended and I’m sure we have all done it at times. Hope your step daughter and the kids are ok."
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On its website, the London Fire Brigade has a whole page dedicated to advising people 'how to use candles safely'.
It explains that candles are 'one of the common causes of home fires' with 'over 200 fires at home' in London in 2020 having been caused by candles.
The page states: "Though they create a gorgeous warm glow, candles need handling with care. [...] That's why we recommend you swap your wax candles for 'flameless' candles."
It noted how flameless candles can be left unattended, are safe around pets and children and how it doesn't matter if you 'doze off' while the flameless candle is on.
Poppy Bilderbeck