Celebrating Safely

It is important to carry out celebrations safely to reduce the risk of any incidents.

Refer the the specific areas below for tips on how to celebrate safely:

If you use candles or tea lights, we urge you to follow the key safety tips below to keep you, your home and your family safe:

• Make sure candles and tea lights are secured in a proper holder and away from materials that may catch fire – like curtains, furniture, etc.
• Keep candles and divas away from draughts.
• Never move a candle once it is lit.
• Do not burn several candles close together as this might cause flaring (mainly with tea-lights).
• Never put divas or candles on top of televisions or other plastic surfaces when alight.
• Put candles out when you leave the room, and make sure they're put out completely at night.
• Keep children and pets away from lit candles. NEVER use a candle for a night light.

• Use only enough ghee or oil for a diva to last your prayers (puja).
• Priests from the temples advise their congregation to put the diva out immediately after the prayers (pujas) are finished.
• Keep the flame at a safe distance from curtains, decorations and clothing at all times.
• If you do need to leave a diva, candle or night light unattended, make sure it is resting securely on a surface that will not melt or burn. Be aware of ash from incense falling onto flammable surfaces.
• Consider using electric or battery-powered candles/lights (remember to check that they comply with UK and EU regulations—kitemark and CE symbol).
• Top tip: Close inside doors at night.

Diwali Gujarati with Police

There are a number of electrical safety tips we advise you to follow whilst celebrating, and these can be seen below:

• Check that fairy lights are in good working order and replace any bulbs that blow. They should conform to the British Standard (BS EN 60598).
• Switch off fairy lights and unplug them before you go to bed or leave the house.
• Don't let bulbs touch anything that can burn easily, such as paper or fabrics.
• You may have more electrical items in use when you are celebrating, so be careful not to overload sockets – only use one plug per socket.
• Always turn off plugs when they are not in use, except those that are designed to be left on, like freezers.
• Always use an RCD (residual current device) on outdoor electrical equipment. This safety device, which can be bought in DIY stores, saves lives by instantly switching off the power if there is a fault.

For more advice and information, see our Electrics page.

Never leave cooking unattended. The majority of fires start in the kitchen, so this is a high-risk area. Don't cook if you are under the influence of alcohol. Always turn off kitchen appliances when you have finished cooking. For more advice and information, see our Cooking page.