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Winfield man dies in house fire  

Police and fire officials are investigating a house fire that occurred early Sunday morning at 1315 Ann St., in Winfield, and claimed the life of a man, according to a statement from investigators at the scene.

The victim has been identified as Jack Greever, 64.

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Fire safe cigarette mandate on July 1 

Fires caused by cigarettes kill about 800 Americans each year. On July 1st, cigarettes sold in Indiana will have to be fire safe cigarettes, which are less likely to burn when left unattended. Lafayette fire inspector David Thomas is glad to see the change.

"We applaud any efforts to reduce home fires. Mattresses and home furnishings are less likely to ignite now with some fire retardancy properties and with smoking being the top causes of home fires it is certainly going to help that," said Thomas.

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New Proposals For Safer Roads 

A pair of proposed Cattaraugus County laws are considered by some as a way of reducing dangers in the county, while others have questioned whether they are evidence of government regulating a bit too much. . . .

Cattaraugus County Public Health Director Barb Hastings also hopes recommendations from the county health board will breath new life into another proposal that would ban smoking in vehicles when children are present.

The law, proposed by Legislator William Sprague, D-Yorkshire, states the legislature finds it "essential to ensure the welfare of our children by acknowledging the fact that second-hand smoke is detrimental to people's health, specifically children who may be unable to avoid second-hand smoke inhalation."

"The best way to avoid the harmful affects of second-hand smoke, without restricting the individual rights and freedoms granted under the Constitution of the United States of America, is to ban smoking in automobiles, a place where second-hand smoke inhalation can be avoided, and where ventilation is insufficient."

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Cigarette caused fatal Bethesda town house fire 

A town house fire that killed two people in Bethesda was started by a cigarette, Montgomery County fire officials said. William Purcell, 79, and his wife, Patricia, 64, died at their home on Arizona Circle on Sunday night. William Purcell, in invalid, may have been smoking in bed, said fire department spokesman Pete Piringer. The couple's daughter, who also lived at the town house, tried to wake her parents but was driven out by the fire, Piringer said.

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Indiana cigarettes must be 'fire safe" by July 1  

Hoosier smokers may notice their cigarettes burning a bit differently next month.

That's because a law passed last year requires that all cigarettes sold in Indiana be "fire-safe" starting July 1.

Unlike traditional cigarettes, the new fire-safe smokes will burn out more quickly when left unattended and are designed to cut down on the number of smoking-related fires.

"The cigarettes are made from the same blend of tobacco as regular cigarettes," said State Fire Marshal Jim Greeson. "The only difference to the consumer is they need to puff it more often or relight it."

According to the National Fire Incident Reporting System, 138 smoking-related fires occurred in Indiana in 2008, causing four deaths, 11 injuries and $3.4 million in property damage.

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Fire-safe cigarettes mandate takes effect July 1 

Indiana smokers may notice some small changes in the cigarettes they purchase beginning July 1. Fire-safe cigarettes have a reduced propensity to burn when left unattended and have proven to decrease the number of home fires.

Fire-safe cigarettes place two bands on the cigarette paper that are less porous than the surrounding paper. These bands require smokers to inhale at these bands to increase oxygen and the temperature of the burning cigarette paper enough to burn through the bands.

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Careless smoking listed as cause of fatal fire  

NIAGARA FALLS--A woman who died in a city fire Thursday in a Monteagle Ridge Estates townhouse was identified Friday, and careless smoking is believed to have caused the blaze, Fire Chief William MacKay said.

MacKay said thermal burns and toxic gas were the causes of death of Mary E. Trusello, 52, who lived alone in the two-story townhouse at 4600 Hyde Park Blvd.

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'Smoking kids' caused fire 

The fire that ravaged the Helderberg earlier in 2009 was caused by children smoking, not by arson, according to investigation findings released on Thursday. . . .

"[It] was started by children who'd been smoking.

"They'd been smoking one of these hubbly-bubblies, and they discarded the burning embers into some dry fynbos," he said.

One of the South Peninsula fires, that started in the Welcome Glen valley, had also resulted from children smoking in the bushes.

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Mount Carmel fire blamed on cigarette, medical oxygen tank 

A Wednesday night house fire on Elm Street in Mount Carmel has been attributed to a person using medical oxygen while smoking a cigarette, a combination that has resulted in several serious residential fires in the region over the past year and a half.

At 8:43 p.m. Wednesday, firefighters were dispatched to 534 Elm St. in Mount Carmel, a residence occupied by Varcilla Jackson, 57, and her father Guy Cobb, 81.

Mount Carmel Volunteer Fire Department Chief Chris Jones said Jackson, who is on a medical oxygen tank, was lying in bed and fell asleep while smoking a cigarette.

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Cigarette started fire that led to restaurant explosion in CR 

Investigators in Cedar Rapids have determined part of the cause of a fire and explosion that heavily damaged a fast-food restaurant. The explosion April 24th blew out the dining room windows and front door of a Burger King restaurant on the southeast side of Cedar Rapids.

Firefighters were just getting ready to enter the restaurant to deal with the fire when the explosion happened.

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Fire Victim Was Retired Naval Officer 

A St. Mary's County man killed in a house fire last week was a retired chief petty officer in the Navy who was known for cooking homemade vegetable soup at the Patuxent Moose Lodge, his wife said.

Paul T. Penrod, 68, died Wednesday after a fire ripped through his family's home on Pinto Drive in Hollywood. Investigators said they think the fire started after Penrod fell asleep while smoking.

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Man drops cigarette, crashes car  

Christopher Clawson dropped his cigarette in his lap Sunday evening while driving his car south on 206th Avenue in Aloha.

Clawson, 19, told a Washington County sheriff's deputy that he was trying to pick it up when he lost control of his car and crashed into the front porch of a house on Sister Lane.

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Missouri's push for Fire Safe Cigarettes 

There is no such thing as a safe way to smoke. But one bill that has gone to the Missouri governor could mean one less danger during and after smoking.

Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas already have laws requiring stores to sell Fire Safe Cigarettes.

But supporters of this law say Missouri should too, not only for smokers, but for non-smokers as well.

Health risks aside, some state officials in Missouri believe the Fire Safe Cigarettes - or FSC - are physically safer.

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North East Wales | Barn destroyed by boy's cigarette 

A 13-year-old boy has been given a nine-month referral order after his discarded cigarette caused a blaze which destroyed a barn.

A youth court at Mold heard the boy went to the barn at Halkyn, Flintshire, to have a cigarette.

He admitted arson on a reckless basis, rather than deliberate.

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Careless Disposal of Cigarette Causes Blaze 

The careless disposal of a cigarette in a trash can is responsible for a fire that nearly destroyed a Gary boarding house last night.

The Duluth Fire Department responded to the blaze just after 2 AM.

The flames were contained to a single room and the automatic sprinkler system had been activated.

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