Peace Candle
The original plywood candle was replaced with a stronger candle made of fiberglass and galvanized steel, the covering of which was stretched on steel and wood frames. It was designed by the Allentown-based firm Rileigh's Inc. and constructed at a cost of about $12,500. The flame was built out of fiberglass strips with lights that changed color in sequence, to create a more realistic burning flame than the original candle. The new structure was , compared to the original . Each side of the new candle was about wide on each side. Due to the increase in size, it was no longer necessary to place the flame structure over the bugler statue on the top of the Soldiers' & Sailors' Monument. Four new smaller candles were built and stood tall and were about wide on each side. Special lighting equipment was added to give the Peace Candle a natural effect that would make it realistically flicker throughout the night. At the base of the candles, 75 tall evergreen trees with gold ornaments were placed, strung with more than 2,000 Christmas tree lights.
Peace Candle
On January 12, 1999, the spotlights surrounding the Peace Candle were accidentally turned on, and the heat from the lights ignited a fire among several of the Christmas trees surrounding the structure. Several residents called police and sprayed the flames with fire extinguishers until city firefighters arrived to put out the blaze. Although flames reached as high as 30 feet, only the trees were damaged and the Peace Candle itself was undamaged. The incident spurred discussion about removing the trees altogether, but Easton officials insisted the fire was just a fluke accident. New spotlights were installed in 2000, which lit the candle from top to bottom and focused on the Soldiers' & Sailors' Monument for the rest of the year.