Candle likely cause of $25,000 blaze

David Kihara

Monday, Aug. 1, 2005 | 9:42 a.m.

A candle left burning in a bedroom likely started a fire in a townhouse in east Las Vegas that caused about $25,000 damage on Thursday night, according to Las Vegas Fire & Rescue.

No one was injured in the fire in the Bonanza Park Townhouses at 588 Blue Lagoon Drive, according to the fire department.

Lit candles are one of the leading causes of fires in Las Vegas and the county, said Tim Szymanski, spokesman for the department.

"You should never leave a room with a candle burning," he said.

Fires started by candles are such a problem nationwide that fire departments across the country will conduct a public awareness program during Fire Prevention Week in October addressing the issue, he said.

Thursday's fire damaged three upstairs bedrooms of the townhouse and was ruled accidental by fire officials.

The occupants of the townhouse, who were not home at the time of the fire, told fire officials that their power had been turned off earlier in the day and they were using candles for lighting.

Even though the occupants told fire officials they extinguished all candles when they left earlier in the evening, Las Vegas Fire & Rescue officials reported that they believe a candle in a bedroom started the fire.

Bob Leinbach, spokesman for the Clark County Fire Department, said that candle fires are common, said the department sees twice as many candle fires during December, when people are celebrating holidays, than at other times. But he said there are frequent fires caused by candles during the rest of the year.

"We've learned that candle fires are unfortunately common," he said.

The Clark County Fire Department responded to at least 29 fires caused by candles from July 2004 to July 2005, Leinbach said. The fires caused a little less than $400,000 in damages.

Szymanski said Las Vegas Fire & Rescue crews sees one or two candle fires a month, with three or four fires every two weeks during December.

The four most common causes of fire in the Las Vegas Valley, in no particular order, are candles, careless smoking, cooking fires and leaving combustibles too close to a fire, Szymanski said.