Carelessness while smoking is the main cause of fires
In most cases, this category of citizens, along with their own safety, endangers the lives of their loved ones as well as those living nearby. Such incidents are reported almost daily in the summaries of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
On September 3, 2022, at 17:57, the City Emergency Management Center received a report from the police about smoke in an apartment on Vokzalnaya Street in the city of Gorodok. Upon arrival at the scene, nothing was found based on external signs. During the reconnaissance, rescuers immediately saw a person in the apartment standing by the window. The rescuers ran to the door, but it was locked from the inside, so they used a tool to break open the entrance door and entered the smoky apartment as a team of smoke and gas protection service. They quickly found the victim and brought him out into the fresh air, but he said that there was another person in the back room. When they opened the door to the back room, it became even darker in the apartment due to the black smoke. On the couch behind the door, there was a small flame, and next to it lay a person in an unconscious state. The Ministry of Emergency Situations workers grabbed him and carried him outside to hand over to the arriving ambulance team.
As it turned out later, this was the owner of the apartment. The fire was extinguished by the rescuers. As a result of the fire, property in the living room was damaged, and the walls and ceiling were blackened. An investigation is underway regarding this incident, and the cause of the fire is being determined. The version being considered is careless handling of fire while smoking.
A smoking person endangers not only themselves but also their loved ones. The health consequences are well known: passive smoking causes great harm to those around, but a discarded cigarette butt can bring disaster to residents of lower floors. An ashtray is not nuclear physics, and mastering the art of using it is easier than pie. The best way to protect yourself from the consequences of tobacco is to quit smoking altogether. Remember that "flying" and "drunken" cigarette butts can lead to maimed lives, broken fates, and burned homes.
The highest number of fires due to careless handling of fire while smoking occurs in the evening and at night. Events develop rapidly and always follow the same scenario, when a person falls asleep with a smoldering cigarette in hand, and after a while, neighbors call the rescuers.
On August 31 at 22:26, the Vitebsk Emergency Management Center received a report from a neighbor about smoke in an apartment on P. Brovki Street in Vitebsk. Upon arrival at the scene, smoke was observed coming from the window of an apartment located on the eighth floor. The owner, born in 1981, unemployed, lives in the apartment with his mother, born in 1954, a pensioner. According to neighbors, they are characterized as unsatisfactory (they abuse alcoholic beverages) and are not registered with the police. Workers of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, as part of the smoke and gas protection team, rescued the owner’s mother (taken out into fresh air), who was in the living room, conscious on the couch, and could not leave the apartment on her own due to heavy smoke. After examination by ambulance doctors, she was diagnosed with poisoning from combustion products and thermal burns to the head, torso, and limbs of 1st to 3rd degree (65% of the body) and was hospitalized in a healthcare institution. Evacuation of residents was not carried out due to the absence of smoke in the stairwell. As a result of the fire, property in the room was damaged, and the walls and ceiling were blackened. The cause of the fire is being determined. The versions being considered for the cause of the fire are: 1. careless handling of fire while smoking by the owner’s mother in an intoxicated state. 2. violation of the rules for the operation of electrical networks and equipment (short circuit of the wiring of the electric heater).
On September 1, 2022, at 06:30, a report was received that the rescued woman had died from her injuries in the healthcare institution.
Not throwing away unextinguished cigarette butts is not even a fire safety requirement, but a common rule of behavior for a normal civilized person. Unfortunately, many citizens do not attach great importance to this. People smoke in bed, throw butts on the floor, and throw them out of open windows, creating fire hazards with their own hands.
Statistics of the smoldering cigarette butt
Interesting studies have been conducted by our scientists. Experiments have shown that the maximum temperature of a smoldering cigarette ranges from 300-420°C, and its smoldering time is 4-8 minutes. A cigarette at the initial moment has a temperature of 310-320°C, which then decreases to 240-260°C, with a smoldering time of 26-30 minutes. By causing the smoldering of combustible material, such as a mattress, the cigarette butt itself goes out after a while. However, the fire it creates can smolder for another 1 to 4 hours. There is no actual flame, but a person suffers from poisoning from combustion products.
A cigarette butt thrown onto sawdust causes it to smolder, and the heat released during this process penetrates deep into the sawdust with the airflow. After 2.5-3 hours, the temperature rises to 410-470°C, and ignition occurs. A smoldering cigarette can ignite paper, for example, in a wastebasket. If the butt lies on the surface, the ignition process lasts 40-50 minutes. If the butt falls to a depth of 5-10 cm, it ignites significantly faster — within 12-35 minutes. Similar consequences occur when a butt falls into hay or straw.
Constant monitoring and advice:
Unfortunately, calls to be more attentive to one's safety are not understood by everyone the first time. Some habitual smokers are rescued repeatedly.
Moreover, the unfortunate cigarette can be one, while the victims of the fire can be several. Due to a smoker, evacuation of neighbors may also be required. Furthermore, most of these fires occur at night.
Therefore, it would be naive to think that the problem of "careless smoking in bed" will never affect you personally.
Remember:
- under no circumstances should you smoke in bed or near combustible substances and materials; demand the same from your guests;
- do not leave unextinguished butts and matches in the ashtray; do not throw them in trash bins or places where combustible materials may ignite;
- do not throw butts from balconies or windows. They can provoke a fire if they land on the balconies or loggias of lower floors, where old things are often stored;
- close windows and balcony doors when leaving the apartment to prevent the source of ignition from entering the premises;
- do not throw unextinguished cigarettes into the lower flights of the stairwell or elevator shaft.
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