Run a lamp on a stable fireproof surface, never leave it burning unattended or while you sleep, and put out a fuel fire by smothering it, never with water. Trim the wick before it forms a carbon ball and keep the flame steady with no black smoke, because soot is incomplete burning that also makes carbon monoxide. Ventilate the room with an inlet and an outlet.
Part of Oil Lamp Construction
A lamp puts an open flame beside flammable fuel, so safe use rests on three habits: preventing fires, keeping the wick trimmed and keeping soot and combustion gases out of the air you breathe.
Lamps Cause Harm In Three Ways
- Fire from spilled or ignited fuel. See Fire Prevention.
- Smoke from a dirty or too-high wick, which wastes fuel, fouls the room and signals incomplete burning. See Wick Trimming.
- Carbon monoxide from incomplete burning, which has no colour or smell. See Soot & Ventilation.
A Short Daily Routine
- Before lighting: check the wick tip, the fuel level and the surface the lamp stands on.
- While burning: keep the flame steady with no smoke trail; stay in the room.
- Before leaving or sleeping: put the lamp out, covered, and let it cool before moving or refilling.
Common Mistakes
- Falling asleep with a lamp lit. The fuel and air in a closed room do not care that you are asleep.
- Treating soot as only a cleaning problem. It signals incomplete burning, which is also how carbon monoxide forms.
- Reaching for water on a fuel fire. Water makes a fuel fire worse.
Safety
Carbon monoxide gives no warning
Carbon monoxide has no smell and no colour. Its early symptoms (headache, nausea and drowsiness) are what a cold, tired person expects to feel anyway, which is why it kills indoors. If anyone feels sleepy or has a headache while a lamp or stove is burning, that is a reason to put the flame out, open an inlet and an outlet and get into fresh air, not to lie down. Do not trust a flame to tell you the air is fine: a flame burns normally at concentrations that kill a person.
What’s Next
- Learn next: Fire Prevention — the fire risks in detail
- Combine with: Wick Trimming — the most frequent maintenance task