Use a candle right and it's perfect for a romantic dinner, a relaxing bath or a warmly scented home. Use it wrong and you might be choking on soot or calling the fire brigade.

Candles are responsible for thousands of home fires, at least 17,200 of them in 2004, according to a November 2006 report from the nonprofit National Fire Protection Association in Quincy, Mass. Negligence and consumer error played a major role: More than half of the fires occurred when the candle was set too close to something flammable.

But even without catastrophe, candles can cause problems.

''Any time you light a candle, whether it's paraffin or beeswax or any other kind, you are putting some air pollution into your home,'' said Bob Moffitt, spokesman for the American Lung Association Health House program in St. Paul, Minn.

You might be surprised to learn that many candle ingredients, particularly paraffin, are petroleum byproducts. Some imported candles may also emit lead fumes from metal wicks, although the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission banned the manufacture and sale of lead-core candle wicks in April 2003.

A study by the Consumer Product Safety Commission suggests that 85 percent of candle fires could be avoided if consumers followed three basic safety rules: Keep candles out of the reach of children and pets; don't burn a candle on or near anything that might catch fire, like clothing, books and curtains; and never leave a burning candle unattended.

10 MORE TIPS FOR SAFE CANDLE USE

1. Trim the wick to 1/4 inch before lighting, to minimize dark smoke and soot. The wick should burn down evenly with the wax.

2. Keep your candle in a well-ventilated area while avoiding direct drafts on the flame. Flickering is a sign that the candle is in a draft.

3. Be sure your candle is on a nonflammable surface and in a sturdy holder that won't tip over and is large enough to catch wax drips.

4. Keep candles at least a foot away from anything that could catch fire, including furniture, drapes, bedding, carpets, paper and flammable decorations. Avoid placing candles too close to walls.

5. Look for lightly scented candles made of hard wax. Heavily scented or soft-to-the-touch candles contain high amounts of oils that do not burn completely and produce more soot.

6. Cease burning any candles that smoke, flicker repeatedly, have a high flame, or leave sooty residues on candle holders or surrounding surfaces.

7. Place burning candles at least three inches apart. The best place to burn a group of candles is in your fireplace; don't forget to open the flue.

8. Never move a burning candle or one where the wax is still liquefied.

9. Use a candle snuffer to put out your candles, as it minimizes smoke and prevents hot wax from splattering. Never use water, as it can cause the hot wax to splatter and might break a glass container.

10. Extinguish taper and pillar candles when they get down to two inches from the holder, and stop burning votives and containerized candles when they are down to half an inch of wax.