THEY never fail to make us feel like we’re in a spa even if we’re just relaxing at home – but if tea lights aren’t handled responsibly, they can have devastating consequences.
Over the weekend, Lucy Anna, from London, experienced first-hand how dangerous tea lights can be after hers burnt through her bath and started a house fire.
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Posting on the Facebook group Top Tips 4 Mums, Lucy explained how her “very chilled out Saturday turned into an absolute nightmare”.
She wrote: “After walking the dog, I had my usual Saturday bath with a couple of tealights, which I’ve been doing for years without a second thought.
“When I got out of the bath, I blew the tealights out and left the bathroom, shutting the door behind me.”
Having gone downstairs to the kitchen, Lucy realised that she’d left her phone in the bathroom and went to retrieve it.
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She continued: “On my way upstairs, I could hear crackling noises coming from the bathroom.
“At first, I thought my housemate was in there so I knocked on the door asking if she was okay.
“When I didn’t get a response, I opened the door only to have thick black smoke pour out all over me and fill the hallway.”
Lucy says what followed immediately afterwards was a total blur – but she thankfully managed to grab her dog, scream out to her housemate and call 999 before the bathroom window exploded.
Praising the fire brigade, Lucy wrote: “[They] were so quick arriving and worked so fast. I am unbelievably grateful.”
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Posting pictures of the bathroom in the immediate aftermath, Lucy showed how the sides of the tub had completely come away while the entire room was covered in a thick layer of soot.
It was after they were finished dealing with the incident that fire fighters told Lucy that her tealights were to blame.
She wrote: “All this because the metal casing on the tealight was so hot, it burnt through the bath and set fire to the (flammable) cladding on the inside which then blew up the pipes.”
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Urging others not to make the same mistake, she added: “Don’t have candles in the bath and if you do, ALWAYS have them in a holder.
“This could have been far worse than it was and we are so lucky nobody was hurt – especially as I was in there less than 10 minutes before it all happened.
“Please be cautious. Coming from someone who is neurotic about leaving plugs on when I go out… I never EVER thought something like this could happen. Lesson learned.”
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