Health Tip: Safe Use of Candles

(HealthDay News) -- Many people enjoy burning candles to enhance their home's cozy atmosphere. But candles can be a fire hazard if not used correctly.

The City of Fairfax, Virginia, offers these candle safety tips:

• Never leave a room with a candle still burning.
• Light a candle in an area far from flammable materials, such as drapes, bedding, furniture, paper or wallpaper.
• Make sure that a burning candle can't be reached by children or pets.
• Only burn a candle that is in a sturdy, non-flammable base.
• Keep the candle wick trimmed to about one-quarter of an inch.
• Don't burn candles right next to each other, near doors or windows, or on a surface that may catch fire or melt from the heat.
• Throw a candle away when the wax is down to about 2 inches from the base.
• Don't use a candle that has flammable materials (such as twigs or pinecones) inside the wax.