Posted: Tue 5th Jul 2022

Appeal after carelessly discarded cigarette causes fire which hospitalised Flintshire pensioner

News and Info from Deeside, Flintshire, North Wales
This article is old - Published: Tuesday, Jul 5th, 2022

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.

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