• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.104-109
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• 2016

Candle fires do not occur frequently, but can easily result in death. In this study, the thermal characteristics of candles and conditions and debris of candle fires were investigated to determine the causes of candle fires. The rates of decrease in weight of 10 candles were measured and found to be between 2.6 g/h and 6.7 g/h. Most candle fires are caused by the ignitiong of combustible materials close to them. The temperature near a candle ranges from about $200^{\circ}C$ to $400^{\circ}C$ at a distance of 1 cm and low ignition temperature materials such as papers can easily catch fire. The melting temperature of candles ranges between $50^{\circ}C$ and $70^{\circ}C$ and their major chemical components are fatty acids and normal hydrocarbons (over C20). Using pretreatment conditions involving the use of activated charcoal strips at $150^{\circ}C$ for 16 hours, the fire debris including candle residues were analyzed using a Gas-chromatograph/Mass-spectrometer (GC/MS).