Appeal after carelessly discarded cigarette causes fire which hospitalised Flintshire pensioner

North Wales Fire and Rescue Service is appealing to people to make sure cigarettes are properly extinguished in the home following a blaze in Flintshire.

A pensioner was taken to hospital following the fire at a flat in Holywell.

The blaze was caused by a carelessly discarded cigarette, fire alarms at the property alerted the man’s neighbours.

A North Wales Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson, said: “A man in his seventies was hospitalised last night following a fire in his Holywell flat caused by a carelessly discarded cigarette.”

“Thankfully, smoke alarms alerted his neighbours.”

“Please ensure that cigarettes are extinguished property – and remember to test your alarm to make sure that you and your family are protected.”

The following steps can help cut the risk of a smoking related fire in the home:

– Never smoke in bed – if you need to lie down, don’t light up. You could doze off and set your bed on fire

– Never leave lit cigarettes, cigars or pipes unattended – they can easily overbalance as they burn down

– Buy child-resistant lighters and matchboxes – every year children die by starting fires with matches and lighters. Keep these where children can’t reach them

– Use a proper, heavy ashtray that can’t tip over easily and is made of a material that won’t burn. Make sure your cigarette is not still burning when you are finished – put it out, right out

– Tap your ash into an ashtray, never a wastebasket containing other rubbish – and don’t let the ash or cigarette ends build up in the ashtray

– Install and maintain a smoke alarm – when a fire starts, you only have a few minutes to escape. A working smoke alarm can buy you valuable time to get out, stay out and dial 999.

You can get a basic smoke alarm for the same price as a packet of cigarettes. Better still are those smoke alarms with long-life batteries or are mains-powered.