A woman grieving over the recent death of singer Whitney Houston had more to fret about after she accidentally started her house on fire.
According to the Manchester Evening News, a woman and her son lit a tribute candle in their England home in honor of Houston, and left the candle burning when they went to bed. The pair were awakened during the night by a smoke alarm, after the candle apparently had set fire to their living room curtains.
Rick Taylor, the watch commander at the Oldham fire station, told the paper, “The blaze quickly spread from the curtains to the TV and electrics.”
Taylor added that while the fire generated a “thick black smoke,” due to the smoke alarm the residents of the home were able to escape completely unharmed, as well as their three family dogs.
“I would urge people to take extra care when using candles,” Taylor said.
The news of Whitney Houston’s death on February 11th rocked the music world, when the diva was found dead in her Beverly Hilton hotel room shortly before she was to attend the annual pre-Grammy bash thrown by Clive David. Houston was 48 years old.
While an autopsy of Houston was conducted within 24 hours of her death, the official cause will likely not be determined for several weeks. The Los Angeles County Coroner did, however, dispel rumors that Houston had died from drowning.