On the Harm of a Destructive Habit

“Careless handling of fire while smoking” – this is the wording most often found in the operational reports of the Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES). And this problem, despite the large-scale preventive work carried out by rescuers, is, unfortunately, still relevant.

“Careless handling of fire while smoking” – this is the wording most often found in the operational reports of the MES. And this problem, despite the large-scale preventive work carried out by rescuers, is, unfortunately, still relevant.

Most often, the perpetrators and victims of fire in such cases are citizens who abuse alcohol. As is known, people in a state of alcoholic intoxication lose full or partial control over their actions and deeds. It is not uncommon for a person who is slightly drunk to throw unextinguished cigarette butts anywhere, lie down in bed with a lit cigarette, and not think about the consequences at all.

Here is one of the sad examples of carelessness that occurred in our district this year.

The late detection of the fire and the report to the MES service left no chance of rescue for the resident of the village of Dvor Toronkovichi, Lepel district. The fire occurred on February 27, around 2 a.m. Upon arrival at the scene, the MES units saw that the entire house was already engulfed in flames. The perpetrator of the terrible tragedy was the owner of the house, who, unfortunately, could not be saved. The cause of the fire was careless handling of fire while smoking.

Not scattering unextinguished cigarette butts is not even a fire safety requirement, but ordinary rules of conduct for a normal civilized person. Unfortunately, many citizens do not attach much importance to them. People smoke in bed, throw cigarette butts on the floor, throw them out of an open window through the vent, and create fire hazardous situations with their own hands.

An effective measure to prevent deaths from fires in the republic is the installation of autonomous fire alarms in households and apartments. The autonomous fire alarm, when triggered by smoke, begins to emit an audible signal, which has saved lives more than once (in 2022, there were 71 positive activations of autonomous fire alarms. A total of 65 people were saved throughout the republic, including 13 children).

Constant monitoring and advice:

Unfortunately, not everyone understands the calls to be more attentive to their safety from the first time. Rescuers have repeatedly saved some inveterate smokers.

In addition,

a careless cigarette can be the cause of a fire, and the victims of the fire can be several people. Due to a smoker, the evacuation of neighbours may also be required. Moreover, most of these fires occur at night.

Therefore, it would be naive to believe that the problem of "careless smoking in bed" will never personally affect you.

Remember:

- under no circumstances 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, do not throw them into waste bins or places where combustible materials may ignite;

- do not throw cigarette butts from balconies or windows. They can provoke a fire by falling onto balconies or loggias of lower floors, where old things are often stored;

- close the windows and balcony doors when leaving the apartment to prevent the ingress of an ignition source into the premises;

- do not throw unextinguished cigarettes into the lower flights of the stairwell or the elevator shaft.