Unattended Candles are a major cause of house fires. Never leave candles burning unattended. Candles should only be placed on a non-combustible surface such as a ceramic plate. Never leave candles burning after you go to bed. You should not use candles if you have house pets. Pets can knock candles over, or worse, cats can catch fire and spread it throughout the house. On 11/25/08 a house fire started causing severe injury to a teenager. A teenager is hospitalized Tuesday morning following a house fire in Southcrest. The flames broke out around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday. Fire investigators say a candle left burning in the back bedroom started the blaze. It took 35 firefighters 20 minutes to put out the flames. The family got out, but the teenage son suffered severe burns and was transported to the hospital.