Danger in Your Bedroom.(Brief Article)

Sure, candles set a sexy mood, but you could be playing with fire every time you strike a match. Cosmo reports on an alarming new trend.

* When Meredith Raney's friends burst into her sorority meeting screaming that her dorm at Southern Methodist University was on fire, the 18-year-old freshman thought they were pulling a prank. Raney jumped in a car to jet back to campus, hut she didn't believe it was true until she saw the fire trucks and hundreds of students gathered outside her residence hall. "That was when fear washed over me," Raney recalls. From where she stood in front of the building, she could see flames shooting out of her window.

"I was constantly burning candles, so when I left for the evening without blowing one out, I didn't give it a second thought," admits Raney, now 26. But this time, the candle was too close to her stereo, and the heat from the open flame shorted some wires and caused the sound system to explode. "When I walked into my charred room a few days later, the soot was so thick that I bad to bold my breath. Soon, I was covered in black ash." In the end, the fire destroyed all of her possessions and caused more than $200,000 worth of damage to the building.

Luckily, no one was injured, but unfortunately, this is not always the case. The National Fire Protection Association reports that fires started by candles are at their highest level in years and caused 1,202 injuries and 156 deaths in 1997 alone (the most recent statistics available). In Illinois and Massachusetts, for example, the number of candle fires has tripled in the last decade. With sales of candles doubling in the past five years, this dangerous trend shows no signs of abating.

The candle craze is understandable--taper, votive, aromatherapy, and decorative candles not only smell amazing, but these little light sources also cast a flattering glow and create a sexy, relaxing mood. Perhaps too relaxing. "Nearly half of candle fires start in the bedroom because people ...