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"   Every year I hear news reports about home fires attributed to the careless burning of holiday candles, and every year I think about how these tragic accidents could easily have been prevented by following just a few simple practices. Here&amp;#039;s what you must do to keep your home and family safe if you&amp;#039;ll be burning candles this season. 1. Trim the wick This important step takes only seconds to do and has a major impact on how the flame burns. With a short wick, the flame is steady and controlled. Light a long wick and the flame lengthens and flickers excessively. A long, erratic flame can easily ignite nearby fabrics or decorations. Before you light any candle, trim the wick to 1/4&amp;quot; long. 2. Remove nearby decorations Burning candles look beautiful nestled into decorative ribbons and greenery, but such an arrangement can be a recipe for disaster. Keep decorations, whether real or artificial, a safe distance from burning candles and never use lit candles to decorate trees or wreaths. Even the slightest draft can tilt the flame sideways and in a matter of seconds decorations can catch fire. For added safety, place burning candles in safe locations, out of drafts, and always out of reach of children and pets.  3. Pay attention to it Once you light a candle, you must keep an eye on it. Watch it burn for a few minutes and regularly go back to it, checking the steadiness and height of the flame. If something doesn&amp;#039;t look right, extinguish it. Never burn candles in rooms, like bathrooms and bedrooms, that aren&amp;#039;t continually occupied. For these areas, opt for battery-operated flameless models. They look realistic now and are much safer than actual candles. It&amp;#039;s easy to get caught up in the activities of the day and forget about candles that are burning in other rooms. The safest rule to follow is: If you can&amp;#039;t see the candles, they shouldn&amp;#039;t be lit. For a firsthand look at how we test all the products we recommend, sign up for a tour of the Good Housekeeping Research Institute. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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