Every day, the Ministry of Emergency Situations' reports are full of news about fire disasters striking someone's home.
Every day, the Ministry of Emergency Situations' reports are full of news about fire disasters striking someone's home. The main culprit in these news stories is almost always human carelessness, and the second headline act is a cigarette butt, carelessly discarded by a neighbour from an upper floor or not properly extinguished after smoking. "It is easier to prevent disaster than to eliminate it later" – we explain in simple terms how to smoke safely, if not for your own health, then at least for the safety of your home, and also how not to become a victim of a fire caused by smoking neighbours.
Actions that seem harmless, such as "take out, smoke, discard," can lead to a tragic chain of events: "light up, drink, fall asleep." A smouldering cigarette butt may extinguish itself after some time, but the smouldering ember it created can turn into a fire. Smoking combined with alcohol leads, in the best-case scenario, to smoke-stained walls and ceilings, and in the worst case, to the loss of a home or even death. For instance, in the district, two people have died in the current period of 2024 due to "smoking while intoxicated."
A smoker puts not only themselves but also their loved ones at risk. The health consequences have long been known: passive smoking causes significant harm to those around, but a discarded cigarette butt can easily bring disaster to residents on lower floors, whose balconies often store old clothes and flammable liquids. An ashtray is not nuclear physics, and mastering its use is incredibly simple. Remind your tobacco-loving neighbours about this, and remember it yourself if you have succumbed to this harmful habit.
How to smoke so that a cigarette does not cause a fire?
- Never smoke in bed, or near combustible substances and materials. Demand the same from your guests;
- Do not leave unextinguished cigarette butts and matches in ashtrays, and do not throw them into rubbish bins or places where combustible materials could ignite;
- Do not throw cigarette butts from balconies or windows. They can provoke a fire by landing on the balconies or loggias of lower floors, where old items are often stored;
- Close balcony windows and doors when leaving your apartment to prevent the ingress of an ignition source into the premises;
- Do not throw unextinguished cigarettes into the lower flights of stairwells or elevator shafts.
- Install a smoke detector, which will help to alert you to a fire in time.
But remember! The best way to protect yourself from the consequences of tobacco is to quit smoking altogether. Do not forget that "flying and drunken cigarette butts" can lead to crippled lives, broken destinies, and a burned-down home.