Tobacco.org

Man taken to hospital after fire caused by smoking  

KNOXVILLE - A man overcome with smoke this morning after catching his mattress on fire was given the option by his living companions of going to the hospital or with the police.

He opted to take a ride in an ambulance. . . .

Firefighters doused the flames apparently ignited by a cigarette and carried the smoking bedding outside.

Jump to full article »

Rocky Hill woman torches car in failed attempt to toss cigarette out window 

SOUTH BRUNSWICK — A driver tried to throw her cigarette out of her car window, but the still-burning tobacco fell inside the vehicle, setting it on fire, police said.

At 9 a.m. Monday, police responded to a 911 call of a car burning on Bard Drive North and found a 1998 Honda Civic fully engulfed in flames.

The 19-year-old driver, from nearby Rocky Hill, told police she had been smoking a cigarette moments before the fire and tried throw it out the window.

Jump to full article »

• Does Switching to Reduced Ignition Propensity Cigarettes Alter Smoking Behavior or Exposure to Tobacco Smoke Constituents? 

Introduction: Since 2004, several jurisdictions have mandated that cigarettes show reduced ignition propensity (RIP) in laboratory testing. RIP cigarettes may limit fires caused by smoldering cigarettes, reducing fire-related deaths and injury. However, some evidence suggests that RIP cigarettes emit more carbon monoxide and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and smokers may alter their smoking patterns in response to RIP cigarettes. Both of these could increase smokers’ exposures to harmful constituents in cigarettes. . . .

Results: We observed no significant changes in smoking topography or CO exposure among participants who switched to RIP cigarettes. Cigarette use decreased significantly in the switched group (37.7 cigarettes/48 hr vs. 32.6 cigarettes/48 hr, p = .031), while hydroxyphenanthrenes increased significantly (555 ng/g creatinine vs. 669 ng/g creatinine, p = .007). No other biomarkers were significantly affected.

Discussion: Small increases in exposure to phenanthrene among smokers who switched to RIP versions were observed, while other exposures and smoking topography were not significantly affected. Toxicological implications of these findings are unclear. These findings should be weighed against the potential public health benefits of adopting RIP design standards for cigarette products.

Jump to full article »

Fire officials: cigarette caused Ewa Beach house fire  

Investigators say an unattended cigarette sparked Sunday's house fire that left an Ewa Beach woman in critical condition. The case has been classified as an accident.

Family members say Judith Domingo, 70, suffered burns and smoke inhalation, and remains in Straub Hospital's burn unit. . . .

The Honolulu Fire Department on Monday offered the following safety tips for smokers:

· Smoking is best done outside rather than inside.

· Use deep, wide ashtrays on a sturdy table.

Jump to full article »

Careless smoking blamed for $5M apartment fire  

A fire Tuesday afternoon in a downtown apartment complex appears to have been caused by careless disposal of smoking material, such as a match or cigarette, police said today. . . .

Early estimates had pegged damages at around $1million; those estimates are now in the vicinity of $5 million, police said.

Residents of the apartment building attached to the annex were forced to leave the building overnight.

Jump to full article »

Fire possibly caused by smoking while on oxygen tank, again 

SPRINGFIELD -- Smoking while using an oxygen tank may have caused the fire that sent Christina Milledge, 60, to the hospital Tuesday evening, Aug. 24, according to fire officials.

This is the second time Milledge is suspected of accidently setting herself on fire by smoking while on oxygen, said Springfield Twp. Fire Department Battalion Chief Dave Nangle.

"Same woman. Same apartment," Nangle said. "(Last) time it just basically burned her face and got her hair and eyebrows and eyelashes."

"It's not an uncommon thing to see," he said.

Tuesday evening, Milledge was flown by medical helicopter to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton with severe burns to her face and chest.

Jump to full article »

Fire Crews: Cigarette Sparked Tigard Condo Fire  

A condo fire that caused $500,000 in damage to a $1.2 million building in suburban Tigard resulted from improper disposal of a cigarette.

Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue officials said Wednesday that a team of investigators interviewed more than a dozen people and picked through the charred area of origin to determine the cause of the Tuesday night blaze in the 11000 block of Greenburg Road.

Jump to full article »

LETTER: Make River Museum A Smoke-Free Zone 

Many thanks to the Essex Fire Department and others who responded and saved the Connecticut River Museum [CTNow, Aug. 13, "Fire Damages River Museum"].

The fire, apparently caused by a careless smoker, could have caused the loss of a Connecticut treasure. I would suggest strongly to the museum board that it make the entire property a no-smoking zone.

Jump to full article »

Essex Museum: Essex's Connecticut River Museum damaged in fire 

Connecticut River Museum administrators breathed a sigh of relief Thursday morning, saying that no artifacts were destroyed in a nighttime fire that heavily damaged the historic steamboat dock building.

Museum Director Jerry Roberts credits the quick response of local firefighters not only for saving the 1878 building on Essex Harbor, but also the priceless artifacts within the three-story, wooden structure. Roberts arrived on the scene Wednesday night and saw flames on the east side, or water side, of the building. . . .

Roberts said it appears that a carelessly dropped cigarette in the rear of the building ignited the old pilings and decking. . . .

The museum is also famous for having a replica of America's first submarine -- the American Turtle -- which saw action during the Revolutionary War.

Essex First Selectman Phil Miller, who was at the museum Thursday, said the river museum may have to consider new security measures. Essex Harbor is filled with boats, and the dock area is a popular gathering spot in the evening.

Jump to full article »

Fire-Safe Cigarette Pioneer Being Honored at FRI 2010  

One of the top awards being handed out at this week's big Fire-Rescue International conference in Chicago is the 2010 Excellence in Fire & Life Safety Award, which will be given Aug. 27 to New York Deputy State Fire Administrator John Mueller during a meeting of the International Association of Fire Chiefs' Fire & Life Safety Section. The conference takes place Aug. 24-28 at McCormick Place.

Mueller is the fourth person to receive this annual award, which is co-sponsored by the Fire & Life Safety Section and the International Code Council. Mueller's nomination cites his organizational and coalition-building skills, as well as a drop of about 33 percent in fire deaths caused by smoking since a safe-cigarette law took effect in his state.

Jump to full article »

Cigarette was threat to historic home 

A discarded cigarette came close to making Tulsa's oldest house go up in smoke Thursday night, officials said.

Minimal damage was done to the structure - at 560 N. Maybelle Ave. in Owen Park - because a crew of firefighters happened to see smoke on their way back to their fire station, which is within sight of the structure.

The firefighters, who were returning from another fire, doused the flames before they grew large enough to cause significant damage, but for years, groups have been trying to safeguard the historical home from vandalism

Jump to full article »

• More suits filed in Casa de Vallejo fire tragedy 

Former residents of the fire-ravaged Casa de Vallejo senior home are suing the building's owners and managers, blaming them for the 2008 fatal blaze at the historic building.

The lawsuits are in addition to a pending criminal case against five owners and managers, charging them with elder abuse and manslaughter in connection with the blaze that killed three elderly tenants and displaced 117.

An investigation after the fire revealed the historic building's alarm system was inoperable.

In their lawsuit filed Monday, plaintiffs George Phillips and Elizabeth Nace claimed managers knew that Robert Bennett, the tenant who started the fire, was a "chronic alcoholic" who had "a habit of smoking cigars while receiving medical oxygen," but nevertheless they "provided (him) with alcohol and/or smoking tobacco anyway."

Jump to full article »

Our Public Safety Dollars Going Up In Smoke 

This regulation originated in the state of New York, 2003 and the NFPA informed me that as of 2010, all states are particpating. In New York, the sale of tobacco products by reservations are taxed. http://www.wgrz.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=78148&catid=37

"A Runaway Black Market: The thefts are the result of a new brand of tobacco smuggling, one that has flooded the Canadian market with contraband cigarettes and cigarillos made not by brand companies - as was the case with tobacco smuggling in the 1990s - but by clandestine manufacturers on Indian reserves here and in the United States. Over the last six years, as federal and provincial governments hiked tobacco taxes to curb smoking and raise funds, the smuggling business has grown exponentially.." www.montrealgazette.com/news/Mohawks+gangs+tobacco/1437136/story.html

Kansas does not tax the Pottawatomie Reservation's sale of tobacco- NO STAMP. Should folks save receipts from purchased non-FSC tobacco products?

I've also been told that folks are getting sick. Designed to extinguish if unaffected through inhalation and drafts- folks complained of drawing deeper inhalations, more frequently- to keep an FSC cigarette lit.

This might build a concentration of nicotine and emit an excess of second hand smoke. Even more disturbing: This NEW 2009 ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer emulsion based industrial adhesive (carpet glue) added to modern day cigarettes is creating headaches and other harmful health problems for smokers. . . .

While some don't like tobacco smokers, if they're trying to kill us faster- it is my humble opinion that an increase in Medicaid and Tricare funding might be necessary.

Did the State Fire Marshal include any of this in the budget?

Jump to full article »

Council Bans Smoking on Pier 

The City Council last week voted to expand the pier smoking ban to cover the entire structure. People are currently allowed to smoke in nine designated areas on the pier. The new rule is expected to take effect in the fall.

City staff recommended the structure-wide ban because of the fire risk. Andy Agle, director of Housing and Economic Development, said there have been two fires on the pier in the past four months. One on April 30 caused approximately 30 square feet of damage and another on May 11 destroyed about 50 square feet of the pier.

"Such fire dangers put public safety as well as the pier businesses and the pier itself at risk," Agle said.

Jump to full article »

Bournemouth man 'fell asleep with cigarette' 

A man who died in a fire in a block of flats in Dorset had fallen asleep while smoking a cigarette, the fire service has said.

Crews were called to a small fire in the ground floor flat in Stourwood Avenue, Springbourne, Bournemouth, in the early hours of Saturday.

They discovered the occupant already dead inside.

Mike Cox, a fire investigation officer, said "the gentleman had apparently been smoking and had... fallen asleep".

Jump to full article »