reason #348 why i shouldn't play with fire

Today was Danielle's 23rd birthday - so we got her a cake in the office because we all can never deny sugar. They are not aware of my ineptness with things that are hot and flammable...until now...

Laura got a small cake and a pack of candles. Did you know that candles have directions on them? Well neither did I until today.

So I put the whole damn pack of 20 on the small cake because that is fun. 8 of the 20 were sparkler candles - candles that not only sparked but also were trick candles. With Rich's and Laura's help, we ignited all 20 candles...then they started to spark and there was a slight inferno on top of the dessert. I called out to Danielle and told her that her cake was about to explode, we sang a very fast "Happy Birthday" and watched her spread the fire, not extingushing it with her breath. She can't blow any more and the cake is still on fire.

We bring the cake into the supply room and we try to get ride of the fire, but it just isn't happening. I quickly grab some water, but it into a used coffee cup. We pluck the candles and toss them into the cup only burning our fingers a few times...all while trying to avoid the sparks flying at us. Needless to say, I dropped a lit candle on the carpet and slightly freak out.

Wax was everyway on the table and our fingers were burnt - but luckily nothing was ignited aside from the cake. And I wonder why Tanya and Dan said it was imperative that we put 9 volt batteries in the smoke detector...