Orange House Fire Caused By Unattended Candle: Fire Officials

ORANGE, CT — An unattended candle is suspected of causing a fire at a home in Orange over the weekend, according to fire officials.

In a news release, Fire Chief Vaughan Dumas said members of the Orange Volunteer Fire Department were called to a Grassy Hill Road home Sunday around 10 p.m. Firefighters reported heavy smoke and fire in the back of the home and ultimately located the blaze in the kitchen.

Doug Fenichel, a spokesperson for the Orange Volunteer Fire Association, said crews quickly extinguished the fire and held major damage to the kitchen area. No injuries were reported, however the entire home suffered significant heat and smoke damage, Fenichel said.

A candle left unattended in the kitchen is the suspected cause of the fire, according to Fire Inspector Joe Taylor.

"Leaving a candle unattended, even for a minute or two, is very dangerous," Taylor said in a news release. "From 2014 to 2018, the last period during which statistics were collected, candles caused about 7,600 structure fires across the country. Those fires caused an average of 81 deaths per year and 677 injuries...These folks were lucky. There were no injuries and firefighters were able to make a good stop."

According to Fenichel, Dumas estimated the damage to be about $150,000 and noted the home was equipped with smoke detectors that did activate.

The Woodbridge Fire Department stood by in case of another incident and EMS personnel from American Medical Response were at the scene in case of a medical emergency.

Further information about candle safety can be found here.