View in FEMA Multimedia Library
Every year, almost 1,000 smokers and non-smokers are killed in home fires caused by cigarettes and other smoking materials. One-in-four people killed in home fires is not the smoker whose cigarette caused the fire. Putting out a cigarette the right way only takes seconds. It is up to you to make sure your cigarette is put out, all the way, every time.
Stop fire caused by careless smoking.
- The safest place to smoke is outside of the home. Use a sturdy ashtray or a can filled with sand to collect ashes.
- Use ashtrays with a wide, stable base that are hard to tip over. If it wobbles, it won’t work.
- Ashtrays should be set on something sturdy and hard to ignite, like a table.
- Put It Out. All the Way. Every Time. The cigarette really needs to be completely stubbed out in the ashtray.
- Soak cigarette butts and ashes in water before throwing them away. NEVER toss hot cigarette butts or ashes in the trash.
- Chairs and sofas catch on fire fast and burn fast. Don’t put ashtrays on them. If people have been smoking in the home, check for cigarettes under cushions.
- NEVER smoke while using oxygen or anywhere near an oxygen source, even if the source is turned off. Oxygen makes any fire burn hotter and faster.
- If you smoke, use reduced ignition strength cigarettes, commonly referred to as “fire-safe cigarettes.” These cigarettes have banded paper that can slow the burn of a cigarette that isn’t being used.
- If you are drowsy or falling asleep, put it out. Smoking in bed is just plain wrong.
- To prevent deadly cigarette fires, you must be ALERT. You won’t be alert if you are sleepy, have taken medicine or drugs that make you drowsy or have consumed alcohol.
- NEVER smoke in bed.
- Close a matchbook before striking and hold it away from your body. Set your lighter on “low” flame.
Be prepared for a fire.
- One of the best ways to protect yourself and your family is to have a working smoke alarm that can sound fast for both a fire that has flames, and a smoky fire that has fumes without flames. It is called a “Dual Sensor Smoke Alarm.” A smoke alarm greatly reduces your chances of dying in a fire.
- Place properly installed and maintained smoke alarms on every level of your home.
- Check smoke alarm batteries at least once every year.
- Prepare an escape plan and practice it often. Make sure everyone in your family knows at least two (2) escape routes from their bedrooms.
- More on Smoke Alarm Safety
Don’t let your world go up in smoke! Following these simple fire safety tips can increase survival rates dramatically: Up in Smoke
*Sources: United States Fire Administration (www.usfa.fema.gov) and National Fire Protection Agency (www.nfpa.org)