Where There’s Smoke There’s Fire

Posted: April 24, 2014 | tobacco | cigarettes, fire, smoking, tobacco | 0 Comments

It seems like the most obvious danger that a cigarette can pose. No, not cancer or some kind of illness; we’re talking about fire. However, fires caused by unattended cigarettes are still a major problem despite humans understanding the dangers of flame since caveman times.

In a recent article published by Bay News 9 in Tampa, FL, we learn that a woman managed to catch her house on fire, severely damaging it. Apparently, she wasn’t the cookies and milk type and instead opted for a nice smoke while in bed. It’s unclear whether she fell asleep or missed her ashtray but regardless, she managed to torch her house. Luckily, she escaped without injury but the blaze did end up sending one firefighter to the hospital with minor injuries.

Last May, a New York man wasn’t so lucky. Thomas Sullivan Jr. not only burnt his house down with an ember from a cigarette, his parents and sister died in the blaze. Sullivan was smoking on his front porch shortly before the fire and authorities believe an ember from his cigarette caught and sparked on a nearby pile of mulch. Firefighters believe the mulch pile smoldered for about 5 ½ hours before it spread to the house killing everyone inside…except for Sullivan himself. While authorities in New York are trying to build a case against Sullivan, prosecution may not even match up against the lifelong guilt that undoubtedly accompanies knowing that your cigarette may have caused your family’s death.

Although fire may not be the foremost concern o everyone’s mind when it comes to smoking, it is a good example of the general attitude some smokers have about the dangers of cigarettes. Whether it be cancer, emphysema, any number of other physiological problems or even the oldest and most simple danger: fire. Ignoring the dangers or mentally casting them aside doesn’t make them any less dangerous. If you choose to smoke you always run the risk of, both physically and figuratively, getting burned.