East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service
Achieving safer and more sustainable communities

East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service logo

Community Safety

Smoking is the biggest house fire killer

Fire Kills You Can Prevent It
  • More people die in fires caused by smoking than in fires caused by anything else.
  • Tobacco is manufactured to stay alight, meaning it can remain smouldering and start a fire.
  • More than a third of all deaths in fires in the home are caused by cigarettes.

Smokers are being warned that they must wake up to the deadly dangers of smoking - especially when tired.

Cigarettes burn at 700ºCelsius and contain chemicals which keep them alight

Smoking is the single biggest killer in accidental fires in the home, often because of careless behaviour such as smoking in bed or not taking care after drinking alcohol.

And when smokers fall asleep with a lit cigarette in hand, their proximity to the resulting fire seriously lowers their chance of escaping in time.

We are reminding smokers to;

  • 'Put it Out, Right Out' whenever they light up
  • To install smoke alarms on every level of the home; and, to test them regularly.

Without a working smoke alarm you are four times more likely to die in an accidental fire in the home.

These simple steps can help prevent a cigarette fire in the home:

  • Never smoke in bed. Take care when you're tired - it's very easy to fall asleep while your cigarette is still burning and set furniture alight.
  • Never smoke when under the influence of drugs or alcohol. If your lit cigarette starts a fire you could be less able to escape.
  • Put it out, right out! Make sure your cigarette is fully extinguished.
  • Fit a smoke alarm and test it weekly . A working smoke alarm can buy you valuable time to get out, stay out and call 999.
  • Never leave lit cigarettes, cigars or pipes unattended - they can easily overbalance as they burn down.
  • Use a proper, heavy ashtray that can't tip over easily and is made of a material that won't burn.
David Kemp, Head of Community Safety for ESFRS, said:
"Every five days, someone dies from a fire caused by cigarettes or smoking materials. Despite a fall in the overall number of fires caused by these products, it's still the biggest killer in accidental fires in the home across the country.

"Every smoker should wake up to the risks they take every time they light up, and drop the habit of smoking whilst in bed or under the influence of alcohol. The risk of falling asleep before you 'put it out, right out' is just too great.

"Just two to three breaths of toxic smoke can render you unconscious, so invest in a working smoke alarm. It can give you the extra time you need to escape if the worst should happen."

To arrange a home safety visit you can call us free on 0800 177 7069. The safety visits enable us to identify any existing risks and what can be done to reduce them.

Community Safety Advisors will check if there are working smoke alarms in the home to provide the earliest possible warning of fire.

Vulnerable members of the community may even qualify for free smoke alarms, which we supplied and fit.

This page was last updated on 16 April 2012
©East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service-All rights reserved