Careless smoking could cost you over £25,000
Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service is reminding local smokers that while a packet of 20 cigarettes costs approximately £4.89, the average damage caused by a house fire costs £25,500 (The Economic Cost of Fire). Quite a price to pay for carelessness!
Firefighters from across Warwickshire will be supporting the national Fire Kills ‘Put it out, right out!’ campaign, which is set to launch on Monday 15 January.
Nearly a third of all households in England include a smoker and these households are nearly 35% more likely to have a fire than non-smoking homes. In the UK between 2000 and 2005 there were on average 120 deaths per year in accidental home fires caused by smoking materials. Statistics from the Department for Communities and Local Government, 2000-2005.
County Fire Officer, William Brown said:
“I hope that people will be extra vigilant after seeing/hearing the adverts. A smouldering cigarette is the biggest cause of fatal fires, causing one third of all deaths from fires in the home. We know that these fires are more likely to start during the night and that some of the most common places for them to start are sofas, beds and carpets.
“A cigarette burns at up to 700 °C. So make sure when you put it out, it really is out. That final check could save your and your family’s life”.
Taking a few simple precautions can prevent fires caused by cigarettes. These include:
· Put it out, right out – make sure your cigarette is fully extinguished.
· Take extra care when you’re tired, taking drugs or have been drinking alcohol. It’s very easy to fall asleep without realising that your cigarette is still burning.
· Never smoke in bed - if you need to lie down, don’t light up. You could doze off and set your bed on fire.
· Never leave lit cigarettes cigars or pipes unattended - they can easily overbalance as they burn down, land on a carpet or newspaper and start a fire.
· Where possible buy child-resistant lighters and matchboxes - every year children die by starting fires with matches and lighters.
· Use a proper, heavy ashtray that can’t tip over easily and is made of a material that won’t burn.
· Tap your ash into an ashtray – never a wastebasket – and don’t let the ash or cigarette ends build up in the ashtray.
Fit and maintain a smoke alarm - when a fire starts, you only have a few minutes to escape. A working smoke alarm can buy you valuable time to get out, stay out and dial 999. You can get a basic smoke alarm for the same price as a packet of cigarettes. Better still are those smoke alarms with long-life batteries or are mains-powered.
For more information about fire safety, visit http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/fireandrescue or http://www.firekills.gov.uk