Date: 4th April, 2017
Did you know that a third of all deaths in house fires are caused by cigarettes?
Smoking is the single biggest killer in accidental fires in the home, often because of careless behaviour such as smoking in bed or not taking care after drinking alcohol. Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service (DWFRS) is reminding smokers that they must wake up to the deadly dangers of smoking, especially when tired.
When smokers fall asleep with a lit cigarette in hand, their proximity to the resulting fire seriously lowers their chance of making an escape.
DWFRS is reminding smokers to ‘Put it Out, Right Out!’ whenever they light up; to install smoke alarms on every level of the home; and, to test them monthly. If you don’t have any working smoke alarms you are at least seven times more likely to die in an accidental fire in the home.
These simple steps can help prevent a cigarette fire in the home:
- Never smoke in bed. Take care when you’re tired – it’s very easy to fall asleep while your cigarette is still burning and set furniture alight
- Never smoke indoors when under the influence of drugs or alcohol. If your lit cigarette starts a fire you could be less able to escape.
- Put it out, right out! Make sure your cigarette is fully extinguished
- Fit smoke alarms and test them monthly. Working smoke alarms can buy you valuable time to get out, stay out and call 999
- Never leave lit cigarettes, cigars or pipes unattended as they can easily overbalance as they burn down
- Use a proper, heavy ashtray that can’t tip over easily and is made of material that won’t burn.
Head of Prevention, Lorraine Hunt, said: “Every six days, someone dies from a fire caused by cigarettes or smoking materials. Despite a fall in the overall number of fires caused by these products, it’s still the biggest killer in accidental fires in the home across the country.
“Every smoker should wake up to the risks they take every time they light up, and drop the habit of smoking whilst in bed or under the influence of alcohol. The risk of falling asleep before you ‘put it out, right out’ is just too great.
“Make sure you have at least one working smoke alarm on every level of your home and test them monthly. Working smoke alarms can give you the extra time you need to escape if the worst should happen.”
You can find out more about the dangers of fire caused by smoking at www.dwfire.org.uk