Candles provide a warm ambiance for an intimate dinner, a sparkling decoration for a birthday cake or a nice scent for your home. Ambiance aside, candles can be a fire hazard if they are left unattended or placed where they can start other objects on fire. Your best bet? Learn to use candles safely. If you enjoy candles, here are some other tips that illuminate ways to use them safely:

• Always blow out candles before leaving the house, going to bed or leaving the room in which a child or pet is present.
• Do not allow children to light candles in their bedrooms unsupervised.
• Never light candles when you are under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.
• Use nonflammable, stable candleholders or hurricane glass holders to hold candles and protect open flames.
• Place candles on a stable surface where they cannot be knocked over easily or reached by children and/or pets.
• Place candles away from flammable items such as drapery, sheets, towels and carpeting.
• Do not throw a used-up candle in the trash to extinguish it. Instead, blow it out and then wet the wick before tossing it out.
• Do not place candles on a Christmas tree or on evergreens during the holidays, because they could start the limbs or pines on fire.

Since matches and lighters are a major fire hazard in addition to lit candles, keep these items in a cabinet out of child’s reach. Teach your children that candles, matches and lighters are not toys and should be used only by an adult who knows how to use them safely.