A simple wax candle appears to have been the cause of a house fire that damaged a “substantial” part of one Burlington residence over the weekend.
This conflagration at 618 Washington Street seems to have more or less run its course by the time it was reported to Burlington’s fire department shortly after midnight on Saturday.
According to the department, firefighters saw no actual blaze when they arrived on the scene within three minutes of dispatch. They nevertheless noticed that the fire had torn through a “substantial amount” of the dwelling’s interior before it went out due to an apparent shortage of oxygen.
Fire crews went on to pour water on the smoldering debris before they ventilated the part of the home where the blaze had erupted. In the meantime, firefighters tried to ascertain the source of the fire – which they ultimately traced to a candle that had apparently ignited some nearby home furnishings while the dwelling’s residents were away.
According to the fire department, this turn of events should serve as a cautionary tale for other area residents who leave candles burning when they go out.
“The Burlington Fire Department wishes to remind the public to use caution when burning candles inside,” the agency went on to add in a news release later that day, “and always extinguish them before leaving the home.”
The department puts the cost of this particular fire at $20,000 to the residence itself and another $5,000 to the home’s contents.
