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Berkshire fire service warns smokers to "stub it out"





According to the service, a third of all deaths in fires in the home are caused by cigarettes , often because people do not extinguish them properly or fall asleep while smoking.
From April 2011 to March 2012, the RBFRS attended 54 incidents involving fires caused by smoking materials (cigarettes, matches, etc).
Smokers can reduce the risk of having a smoking-related fire in the home by following these simple steps:

• Put it out, right out! Make sure your cigarette is properly extinguished.
• Take extra care when you’re tired, have been drinking or taking medication. It’s very easy to fall asleep while your cigarette is still burning.
• Never smoke in bed. If you need to lie down, don’t light up – you could fall asleep and never wake up.
• Never leave lit cigarettes, cigars or pipes unattended. They can easily overbalance as they burn down.
• Use a proper, heavy ashtray – never a rubbish bin. Make sure it can’t tip over and is made of a material that won’t burn.
• Fit smoke alarms to every level of your home and test the batteries weekly.

Paul Jacques, Group Manager for Prevention, said: “Every five days someone dies from a fire caused by cigarettes or other smoking materials and it is still the biggest killer in accidental fires in the home. If you smoke, you can reduce the risk of it happening to you by making sure that you always ‘put it out, right out’, especially last thing at night before you go to bed or if you’ve been drinking.
“It is also vital to get out of the habit of smoking in bed – it’s all too easy to fall asleep and, if this happens, you may never wake up again.”



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