Her bid for serenity blew up in her face.
A former Metropolis Corridor official claims she was critically damage when she lit a Tub & Physique Works candle and it exploded, sending “searing” scorching wax into her face and arms.
Renita Francois’ life has been “irrevocably changed” because the Jan. 19, 2023 incident in her Valley Stream, LI, residence, when a three-wick “Sweater Weather” candle exploded as she leaned in to take a whiff, sending “a shockwave of fire and debris directly into her face,” in line with a lawsuit.
The warmth of the blast left her pores and skin “sizzling,” singed off her eyebrows, melted her eyelashes and left her face and arms critically scarred, the mom of two claimed, calling the ache “instant, unrelenting, and beyond anything she had ever experienced.”
Her husband McEvans “witnessed his wife’s face catch fire, crackle, and blister as molten wax burned her skin,” the couple mentioned in authorized papers.
Francois, 41, was rushed to the emergency room however mentioned the aftermath of the incident has “fractured” her confidence.
The second-degree burns ignited “an emotional and psychological battle, an assault on her self-perception, and a daily reminder of a tragedy that could have been prevented,” she mentioned in a Brooklyn Federal Court docket lawsuit towards the retailer and the producer, Premier Candle Corp.
The candle, which sells for about $17, was made in Canada, “with substandard materials, improper safety measures, and inadequate testing, creating an unreasonable risk of explosion” she mentioned in courtroom papers.
And the candle was particularly harmful as a result of chemical components made the wax “highly flammable,” contended Francois.
Including insult to damage, the corporate knew its candles may very well be harmful way back to 2016, when it was compelled to recall a few of its votives for “documented cases of candle explosions, glass shattering, and injuries caused by molten wax and fire hazards,” she mentioned in courtroom papers.
As government director for the Mayor’s Motion Plan for Neighborhood Security below Mayor Invoice de Blasio from July 2018 to April 2022, Francois was a frequent public speaker however now “dreads stepping in entrance of a room.
“Before the explosion, Renita was bold, fearless, and effortless in commanding an audience. Today, she walks into public meetings, panel discussions, and leadership summits knowing that her scars speak before she does,” she mentioned in courtroom papers.
She is looking for unspecified damages.
“This lawsuit is not just about compensation—it is about accountability. It is about ensuring that corporations that prioritize profit over consumer safety do not escape responsibility for the harm they cause,” she mentioned within the litigation.
Tub & Physique Works and Premier didn’t instantly return a message looking for remark.
