Careless burning of candles causes two minor fires over the holidays
A candle left unattended set fire to a curtain in Tartu, while a dresser caught flame in a Tallinn hotel for the same reason Saturday.
The Alarm Center got a call from Ranna tee in Tartu at 8:02 p.m. where a candle placed on a window had caused the curtain to catch fire.
By the time the rescue truck arrived, residents had managed to put out the flames using a handheld extinguisher. The firemen aired out the apartment and stairwell, while an ambulance made sure an 82-year-old woman who was in the apartment was fine.
A call came in at 11:10 p.m. on December 24 reporting smoke on the second floor of a hotel on Vene tänav in Tallinn. It turned out that a candle had been left unattended on a dresser in one of the rooms that set fire to the dresser top once it burned low enough. The fire was quickly contained and kept from spreading. The rescue team aired out the floor.
The Rescue Board would like to remind people that candles need to be placed on a fixed non-flammable base and away from flammable objects, such as a television set, furniture, shelves, curtains or other textiles. The board also reminds people that fire safety starts with an operational smoke alarm.
A more tragic incident also took place on December 23 when two people were killed in an apartment building fire in Haapsalu. The cause of the fire is being investigated.
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Editor: Aleksander Krjukov, Marcus Turovski
