Cigarette Safety – the essentials
More people die in fires caused by smoking than in fires with any other single cause. Because tobacco is designed to stay alight, cigarettes can easily start an accidental fire.
- Keep your home, business, co-workers and family safe from fire.
- Use your common sense – know the risks and make sure when you put it out, it really is out!
- Take extra care if you smoke when you’re drowsy, taking prescription drugs, or if you have been drinking. It’s too easy to fall asleep and not notice that a cigarette is still burning.
- Don’t leave a lit cigarette, cigar or pipe lying around. They can easily overbalance as they burn down, land on a carpet or a newspaper, and start a fire.
- Take responsibility and keep lighters and matches out of reach of children.
- Don’t light up if you need to lie down. Despite the risk of falling asleep or setting the bed on fire, people are still smoking in bed.
- Use a proper ashtray. Make sure the ashtray is heavy, can’t tip over easily, and is made of a material that won’t burn.
- Never tap your ash into a wastepaper basket – only an ashtray. Make sure it can’t be easily knocked over and don’t let ash build up.
- People often like to smoke when they’re drinking. But someone who has had a few drinks can end up passing out with a cigarette in their hand. The result? Severe burns, permanent scarring, or even death.
- Every year children die from starting fires with cigarettes and lighters they shouldn’t have.
- Consider buying child-resistant lighters and matchboxes. Matchboxes now carry this warning label.
Careless smoking is the leading cause of fire-related deaths in the United States and the second leading cause of injuries among people ages 65 and older. Evidence suggests that most of the fires that result in death were caused by smoking materials, such as cigarettes, cigars, or pipes, igniting in bed. Never smoke in bed or if you are sleepy, intoxicated or taking medication.
Did You Know?
- Eighty percent of all fire deaths occur in the home.
- Careless smoking is the leading cause of home fire deaths.
- The most common material first ignited in home smoking-related fires is trash, followed by mattresses, bedding and upholstered furniture.
- Having a working smoke alarm more than doubles your chances of surviving a fire.
- Encourage smokers to smoke outside.
- Install a smoke alarm on every level of your home.
- Test the batteries every month and change them at least once a year.
- Keep smoking materials away from anything that can burn.
Following these simple fire-safety tips can boost survival rates dramatically:
- Never smoke in bed or when you are drowsy, intoxicated or medicated.
- Use large, deep, non-tip ashtrays to prevent ashes from spilling onto furniture and check them frequently.
- Do not rest ashtrays on sofas or chairs.
- Empty ashtrays into the toilet or an airtight metal container.
- Warm ashes dumped in trash cans can smolder for hours, and then ignite. Completely douse cigarette butts and ashes with water before throwing them away.
- Do not allow smoking in a home where an oxygen tank is in use.
- When smokers visit your home, ask them to keep lighters and matches out of reach of young children, preferably in a locked cabinet.
- If you smoke, choose fire-safe cigarettes.
- Don’t leave cigarettes, cigars or pipes unattended.
- Be sure to check on the floor and around chair cushions for ashes that may have been dropped accidentally by visiting friends or relatives.
If a fire does occur and your clothing happens to catch fire, you should remember the “Stop, Drop, and Roll” technique. This could prevent serious burns to you or a family member.
Fire safety is not difficult. It only requires awareness and common sense to keep families and homes safe from fire. Please remember to make sure your cigarettes are fully extinguished before leaving the area. By taking preventive measures can keep a friend, family member, co-worker or business from becoming a fire statistic.
Information provided by the NFPA
Today’s post comes to us courtesy of Ken Oswald
Safety and Security Manager for Plateau
