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Where there's smoking, there's chance of fire 

Jump to full article: WAVY-TV 10 (Portsmouth, VA), 2008-03-16

Intro:

They are deaths you can prevent if you just take the time. According to the Virginia Department of Fire Programs, 158 fires in Virginia were caused by smokers not putting their cigarettes out properly in 2007. Six people died because of those fires and 20 were hurt.

So far this year in Hampton Roads, a person has already lost their life in one of four fires cased by cigarettes. The most recent fire cause by a cigarette started Friday morning at a home in Norfolk.

"We'd love to have people stop smoking, but if they're going to smoke, do it the right way," says Jack Goldhorn, Norfolk Fire Public Information Officer.

The U.S. Fire Administration says smoking is the number one cause of preventable home fire deaths. In Virginia Beach, a woman died in a fire in February.

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