Fire Department

A stick of incense placed in a roll of toilet paper led to a small fire inside a home last Friday. Nobody was injured or displaced.

A resident approached firefighters when they arrived to the scene, stating, “Something’s burning! I don’t know what.” There were no obvious signs of fire from the outside, but firefighters did smell smoke upon entering the home. They searched the duplex to find the elusive source of the smoke, ultimately pinpointing it to the bathroom, where they found a wad of burned-up toilet paper next to the toilet. That’s when the resident recalled she put an incense stick in the roll of toilet paper, using the toilet paper as an incense holder, and forgot about it.

The fire that resulted caused the plastic toilet paper holder to melt, dropping the burning toilet paper onto the floor and damaging the vinyl flooring. Firefighters ventilated the home, and the smoke detector was silenced.

Safety Tip: Always burn candles and incense in approved, non-combustible holders and keep them at least 12 inches away from other objects. When clearing the air in the bathroom, a spritz of air freshener or a plug-in air freshener are safer options than candles and incense.