Careless smoking could cost you £25,000

Date article online: 16/01/2007

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service is reminding  smokers that while a packet of 20 cigarettes costs approximately £4.89, the average damage caused by a house fire costs £25,500* . Quite a price to pay for carelessness.

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service is supporting the national Fire Kills "Put it out, right out!’ campaign that is on TV, radio and online at the moment to remind smokers to extinguish smoking materials (cigarettes, cigars, etc) fully.

Nationally, fires started by smoking materials account for the majority of all accidental deaths, while only causing around one tenth of all fires. In Greater Manchester you are more likely to die in an accidental house fire caused by a cigarette than any other cause (of the 23 deaths in accidental dwelling fires in 2005/6 11 were caused by smoking materials). 

County Fire Officer Barry Dixon says: "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 in the UK.  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". 

Fires caused by cigarettes can be prevented by taking a few simple precautions.

For information about fire safety, visit www.firekills.gov.uk, or for a free Home Fire Risk Assessment residents of Greater Manchester can call free on 0800 555 815.

* Based on ODPM report "Economic Cost of Fire’