Woman Suffers 2nd Degree Burns After Blowing Out A Scented Candle

Disturbing video is a scary reminder to follow directions on scented candles

Ashley Brawley, of Burleson, Texas, said she had burned scented candles from Bath and Body Works many times before. But earlier this month, she lit a vanilla scented candle and left the room, and said she returned to see a six-inch flame coming out of the candle’s jar. The scary result was caught on home security footage.

“I was in the restroom. I was blow drying my hair, my two-year-old was sitting on the counter watching me and I smelled something burning,” Brawley explained. “I walked in the living room and that’s when I saw the candle. It was in flames. I blew on it about three or four times and the last time I blew, it just went all up in my face… I immediately started screaming.”

Brawley’s husband, Cody, posted the security video on Facebook, alongside a photo of Brawley in the hospital with bandages covering her face. In the video, you can see bright, flickering lights from the candle flame, burning with no one in the room. Brawley walks in, rushes over to the candle and tries several times to blow it out, before the flame expands and engulfs her face.

“Ashley Brawley is in the Emergency room,” Cody Brawley wrote in his post. “She had a candle from Bath and Body works going. It had three wicks and was a vanilla candle. From checking the camera it was burning for 3hrs and 20min. She smelt something burning. The candle had a 6 inch flame and Ashley tried blowing the candle out and that didn’t work. The candle made a huge flame from just trying to blow it out. The flame engulfed her face and hot wax splashed all over her face. It burnt her face and hair. She has 1st and 2nd degree burns. She’s doing okay but wanted to post for anyone that has them or wondering how she was doing.”

According to a local NBC affiliate, the directions on Brawley’s candle warn not to let it burn longer than 3-4 hours, or to leave it lit in an unsupervised area. Comments on Brawley’s post also ask why she tried to blow it out, rather than using the candle’s lid to smother the flames.

“As far as that goes, I could have done the lid, but with a six-inch flame, it’s kind of hard,” Brawley told NBC. “I feel like if I would’ve done that I would have burned my hand. I would’ve dropped it. Something would’ve caught on fire in the house.”

She continued, “I would’ve never imagine in a million years that I would walk in and it would be in flames. I’ll never use a candle again. Ever. I mean, it scared me.”

Bath and Body Works told NBC that the candle has been tested to meet industry and government standards for safety.

“We are very sorry that this happened and are taking this situation extremely seriously,” the company said in a statement. “The safety of our customers is our number one priority, and we are actively working to learn more details from the customer.”

How many of us are guilty of lighting scented candles and then leaving the room? It’s a practice many people don’t think too seriously about, and Brawley hopes her experience will help change that.

“It’s hard,” she said, “but it’ll get better.”