Candle caused fire

[April2022x]

A few weeks ago I had a house fire which has made my family temporarily homeless.
The cause of the fire was a tea light from a local home store. The particular candle had 2 wicks, which at the time I thought nothing of but later realized that is what made the candle too big for the warmer it was in.
Anyway, I have made a complaint to the store via email. Received email back to send them photos of said candle pack and receipt. The fire burnt the majority of stuff in the room and I dont have any of these things.

Where do I go from here? Do I leave my complaint as I dont have proof of purchase due to the fire or is there something else I can do?

Did the flames get so big the ceiling ignited?

I’m confused.

I had a near miss like this with a Matalan tea light. I've never seen anything like this, it just caught itself on fire and sort of burst. Luckily it wasn't near anything flammable but it really scared me and I've not used tea lights since.

Glad you and your family were ok OP.

Obviously far less of a bad situation but Matalan weren't interested when I complained. I told them as I thought it must be faulty and was worried it could happen to someone else with worse consequences but they were very disinterested.

Do you not have fire blankets/an extinguisher?

Classic MN. Do you have a fire blanket and extinguisher to hand whilst watching tv on the sofa?

And in other news water makes things wet...

Today 22:33 poltergust

Do you not have fire blankets/an extinguisher?

I have a fire engine outside on standby, do you?

Can you describe what happened?

Did it come with the warmer? Was it sat on a suitable surface away from flammable stuff? How did it actually start?

Obviously if it never came with the warmer and it was sat next to/in front of a curtain you’ll no have much of a leg to stand on. But if it was placed suitably and some how popped (had a glass jar candle do this bloody scary but no fire) that’s obviously different.

I don't have a fire extinguisher or a fire blanket. Do normal domestic households have them usually?

Sounds like you got an auto response.

I would send them a picture of the charred remains where the candle was.

@poltergust what? Basic safety. I have a fire extinguisher in my sitting room (open fire) kitchen and upstairs. Also a fire blanket for oil fires. And a fire ladder in both bedrooms to get out of a window in case. I will not be burning to death. All recommended by the... wait for it... fire brigade!

Fucking classic mumsnet, making sure you and your kids are safe!

Off topic, but I actually have a fire extinguisher/fire blanket in the kitchen (replaced as I used the blanket last Christmas when I set an egg box on fire which are surprising hard to extinguish). I also have a fire blanket per person in each bedroom as i read, in the event of a house fire you can wrap your children up in it if necessary and use it to protect hands and head while escaping.

OP - what a shock, I hope you are ok.

I'm really sorry about your house OP. Have the fire service given you a report you could perhaps send to the store if they have identified the product as at fault?

Surely most people don't have fire extinguishers or fire blankets in their homes?! And sometimes a fire can spread so quickly its not always as easy as putting it out yourself. Our house has automatic sprinklers, apparently it's a legal requirement for new builds in Wales. Perhaps it should be for the whole of the UK.

I can’t believe people don’t have fire safety equipment. Baffling. I’ve never had to use them, but you never need to until the day it happens.

Fire extinguisher is £20 on Amazon.

I have an extinguisher and fire blanket. Why wouldn't you?

No I don't have a fire extinguisher or blanket. I dont know anybody that does. The same thing happened last night at a friend of a friends house with the same candles from the same store so definitely a bad batch. Luckily the damage wasnt as bad as my house. They have been reported to the fire department now

Well hopefully you’ll get some now, as obviously you see how quickly a fire can start and how devastating they are.

That is very very unlucky. You and your friend having such dreadful tea light horrors. I would definitely get the national press involved.

What was the candle near to that was incredibly flammable? You need to look at where the candle is situated so it isnt close to anything that will go up in flames so easily

I've seen something like this on TV so I know exactly what you mean. On the TV programme (I've forgotten which one, it was years ago) they showed somebody lighting a tea light and then dropping the match into the candle. Because the wood of the match acted as an extra wick, the candle burned much higher and hotter than you would usually expect. IIRC they also had the candle on top of an old TV set, it melted through the plastic very quickly and dropped inside.

Anyway for this reason I would be careful about tea light candles with a double wick, but perhaps this is a common manufacturing error? If so perhaps there is a warning on the packet. There probably should be, even if most people wouldn't notice it or pay attention.

Where did these candles come from?

I'm sorry you're had a fire but I don't understand exactly what happened, what caught fire?

But what I mean is I don't think it is common knowledge that a tea light with an extra wick, whether that's due to error or something that has fallen or been dropped into the candle, could cause it to act so drastically differently.

I dont have blanket or extinguisher but now feel I should get prepared just in case. Can anyone link to what I should have? Electric cooker and hob, gas central heating? Sorry to sound so totally useless-adult!

@LikeARedBalloon

www.fireprotectionshop.co.uk/fire-safety-packs/home-fire-safety-pack-1.html?gclid=CjwKCAiAluLvBRASEiwAAbX3Gfg8IkYY4csoqTx9-kvTx-jjWymTNoMqBTlSeb9LIZEfwL-KqWLb7hoCQWQQAvD_BwE

Sorry for the appalling link! But this is a good starting point. Powder gets fecking everywhere but it’s better than your house burning down!