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Three left homeless after cigarette ignites oxygen tank hose 

LISBON -- A woman who lit a cigarette while using an oxygen tank sparked a blaze that left three Lisbon residents homeless.

Lisbon volunteer firefighters say the fire started when a woman smoking a cigarette accidentally ignited the hose to her oxygen tank. Firefighters responded to reports of a structure fire at the residence of Arlene Snyder, County Route 28A, at about 3:30 a.m. Saturday.

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Cigarette causes life-threatening burns 

LYNNWOOD -- A woman suffered life-threatening burns early Sunday after she fell asleep while smoking.

The woman's husband called 911 about 12:20 a.m. and firefighters rushed to the couple's home in the Norma Beach area north of Lynnwood, Snohomish County Fire District 1 spokeswoman Leslie Hynes said.

The fire started when the woman's pajamas apparently caught fire after she fell asleep while smoking in bed. . . .

Just a few weeks ago Joanne Lamb perished inside her Edmonds home in a fire caused by an improperly discarded cigarette.

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Cigarette starts fire at Kiel assisted living center  

Nine people were evacuated Sunday from an assisted living center after a cigarette sparked a fire outside the building.

The fire from a cigarette placed in a receptacle outside moved into the attic of Care Partners Assisted Living, 65 River View Road, around 7: 50 p.m, said Kiel Fire Chief Bob Hennings.

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Martinsville man dies after cigarette ignites fire in apartment  

A Martinsville man apparently died of smoke inhalation early Saturday, after a small fire ignited by a cigarette smoldered in his apartment, authorities said.

Curtis Lee Hodiak Flood, 57, was found dead about 4 a.m. in his apartment on Mountain Road, off Chatham Heights Road in northeast Martinsville, after a cigarette was apparently left burning on a sofa, city spokesman Scott Coleman said.

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Fire-safe cigarette delay 'costing lives' 

Anti-smoking campaigners say lives will be lost because of a delay in bringing in new self-extinguishing cigarettes. . . .

They were due to be introduced across the EU later this year, but work on developing an EU standard is running at least six months behind schedule.

Deborah Arnott, of anti-smoking group Ash, said the cigarettes would mean a "significant decline" in fire deaths.

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Cigarette Starts City Heights Apartment Fire 

A man and his dog escaped unharmed from his burning apartment in City Heights early Thursday, but his cat perished in the blaze, which was sparked by a discarded cigarette, a San Diego fire official said.

The fire broke out about 7:30 a.m. on the second floor of a two-story apartment building at 4250 Swift Ave., near El Cajon Boulevard, said Maurice Luque of the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.

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Family survives fire, but some pets don't  

MUNCIE -- Kristen Goodwin was awakened from a nap by her 3-year-old son who had a simple message for her.

"The house is on fire," said the toddler. . . .

"We know where the fire started, but there's no good explanation for why it started," Clevenger said. "It started near a child's bed and near a computer desk. On the desk were multiple electrical cords, ashtrays and maybe even candles.

"Whether this child knocked over a candle or ashtray full of smoking material we don't know." . . .

While Goodwin and her son escaped the fire, which started in an upstairs bedroom, two female dogs and several puppies didn't

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Fire victim was smoking while using oxygen 

The DuPage County Sheriff's Office is continuing its investigation of Monday's apartment fire at 5750 Abbey Drive in unincorporated DuPage County near Lisle that took the life of an 80-year old man.

Ralph J. Lufty, who lived in the apartment in the Abbey Apartments at Four Lakes complex, just east of Benedictine University, was taken to Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later . . .

According to a sheriff's office release, Lufty had been smoking while wearing an oxygen tube, which was highly flammable, causing the fire.

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Fire victim was first Hmong Ramsey County deputy 

Ka Lee Yang, 49, who was killed Monday in a fire at his apartment on St. Paul's East Side, was the first Hmong to become a Ramsey County sheriff's deputy and, before that, was a St. Paul police officer, his former colleagues said.

The fire in Yang's apartment at 1615 Sloan St. has been ruled accidental, St. Paul Fire Marshal Steve Zaccard said Tuesday. He said the fire started on the second-floor apartment's balcony . . .

Yang was the only one home at the time of the fire, Zaccard said. He said investigators can't rule out smoking or cooking as the cause, although "we may never know for sure."

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• Using oxygen? Better think again before lighting up  

Fitchburg Fire Chief Kevin Roy remembers a devastating fire caused when an ill woman lit a cigarette while connected to an oxygen tank for her medical problems.

The cigarette sparked a fire on the oxygen tank, badly burning her and causing severe smoke inhalation, which ultimately caused her death, Roy said.

"People that are on oxygen should absolutely not be smoking," Roy said. "It's particularly a problem when it's not someone living in a single-family home. They're putting themselves and a lot of others at risk. ... It's almost a form of suicide when you're doing that."

Roy said he's "very much in support" of a new program launched last week by state Fire Marshal Stephen Coan highlighting the fire dangers of oxygen tanks, because oxygen intensifies the burn of fire, turning accidents into tragedies.

"Every year, we see more and more of these incidents coming up," Roy said.

Coan's office is working with Massachusetts General Hospital and the state task force on home oxygen safety to launch the campaign

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• State: Smoking caused fire that killed nine in Starkville  

The State Fire Marshal's office on Monday announced the December blaze that killed nine people at Academy Crossing Apartments was accidental.

According to the Fire Marshal's office, the fire originated in a chair in the living room of Apartment E7, where all nine people died during the early morning hours of Dec. 28. In its investigation, the Fire Marshal's Office eliminated multiple causes of the fire, with the exception of "smoking-related materials."

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• Exploding Cigarette Earns Hurt Indonesian Rp 5 million  

The company that manufactured a cigarette that allegedly exploded in the mouth of a security guard has paid compensation equal to less than Rp 1 million for each of the teeth the man lost.

Andi Susanto, 31, was riding his motorcycle along Jl. Teuku Umar in Cibitung, Bekasi, last Thursday, and smoking a Bentoel Clas Mild — marketed as the ultimate experience of satisfaction and smoothness — exploded in his mouth with devastating consequences.

The mysterious explosion blew five teeth from his mouth and required numerous stitches.

His helmet was also found to have cracked. . . .

Bekasi Police investigators are waiting on the results of laboratory tests, which are expected today, to help shed light on what they admit is a highly unusual case. . . .

Iwan Sulistyo, the marketing chief of the Clas Mild brand, said the company could offer no explanation for what had happened to Andi.

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• Victim’s family wants to settle case out of court 

Family members of Andi Susanto, a Bekasi resident who recently suffered a severe injury caused by an exploding cigarette, are currently seeking an out-of-court settlement against the cigarette producer PT Nojorono Tobacco Indonesia (NTI).

Andi’s sister, Widya Setyowati, said Monday that her family was in the process of negotiation with the cigarette firm to cover all his medical costs.

“My mother informed me that we have agreed not to take the case to court,” Widya said, although the family reported the explosion to Cibitung Police last week.

The cigarette exploded in Andi’s mouth on Thursday when he was riding his motorcycle on an intersection near Adam Talib Hospital, Cibitung, Bekasi.

The cigarette, which was half-burnt was tucked between his lips, right before the explosion. He lost six teeth and received 51 stitches.

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• Cigarette-maker repents over exploding product 

An Indonesian tobacco company has agreed to pay the medical expenses of a man who lost six teeth when a cigarette mysteriously exploded in his mouth.

Security guard Andi Susanto, 31, told Metro TV in an interview from his hospital bed that cigarette producer PT Nojorono Tobacco Indonesia had offered to pay for his treatment. . . .

The cause of the explosion remains unknown. Susanto said he wasn't chewing anything when he lit the Clas Mild cigarette and didn't notice anything strange about its odour, colour or taste.

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Mother dies despite daughter's attempts to save her in second fatal Brooklyn fire in three days 

A beloved Brooklyn mom died in a smoky blaze early Monday despite her daughter's desperate attempt to save her, officials and neighbors said.

Flames and thick smoke engulfed Sandra Lubin's fifth-floor apartment in the Bayview Houses in Canarsie when a fire broke out just after 6 a.m.

Her daughter, Jessica, tried to pull her mom to safety, neighbors said.

"I heard her yelling, 'Mom! Mom! Mom!'" said Krisha Belgrove, who lives on the same floor. "And she tried to pull her out of the apartment but she just couldn't." . . .

Police said Lubin was smoking in bed and fell asleep.

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