Carelessness while smoking is the main cause of fires

The indisputable leader of all fire incidents is carelessness while smoking. Most often, the culprits and victims of fire in such cases are citizens who abuse alcohol. As is known, people in a state of intoxication completely or partially lose control over their actions and behavior. Often, a person who has been drinking throws unextinguished cigarette butts anywhere, lies down in bed with a lit cigarette, and does not think about the consequences at all.

In most cases, this category of citizens, along with their safety, endangers the lives of their loved ones, as well as people living nearby. Almost daily, similar incidents are reported in the Ministry of Emergency Situations' summaries.

A smoking person puts not only themselves at risk 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 quite simple. The best way to protect yourself from the consequences of tobacco is to quit smoking altogether. Remember that "flying" and "drunken" cigarette butts can become the cause of shattered lives, broken fates, and burned homes.

The highest number of fires due to careless handling of fire while smoking occurs in the evening and nighttime. Events develop rapidly and always according to one scenario, when a person falls asleep with a smoldering cigarette in hand, and after a while, neighbors call for rescuers.

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. After igniting a combustible material, such as a mattress, the cigarette butt itself goes out after a while. However, the fire it created can smolder for another 1 to 4 hours. There is no actual flame; the person suffers from poisoning by combustion products.

A cigarette butt thrown onto sawdust causes it to smolder, and the heat released during this process, along with the airflow, penetrates deep into the sawdust. After 2.5-3 hours, the temperature rises to 410-470°C, leading to ignition. A smoldering cigarette butt 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 penetrates to a depth of 5-10 cm, it ignites significantly faster — within 12-35 minutes. Similar consequences occur when a butt lands in hay or straw.