Smoking practices

Smoking is a leading cause of house fire deaths in Australia, with many fires starting due to unsafe smoking behaviours.

If you are a smoker, Victorian fire services recommend you take the below actions to minimise your risk of starting a house fire.

Quitting smoking is the safest option from a health and a fire safety perspective. However, if you are going to continue to smoke, here are some ways you can minimise your fire risk.

Victorian fire services recommend:

If you can, smoke outside the home in a single location.
If smoking occurs in the home, there should be a smoke alarm in every room.
Never smoke in bed.
Don’t smoke when affected by alcohol, drugs or medications that may cause drowsiness.
Use heavy, high-sided, non-combustible ashtrays to dispose of cigarette butts. Pour some water on the ash and butts to make sure they’re out.
“Stick it don’t flick it” – never flick cigarette butts, either inside or outside.
Never leave a lit cigarette unattended and butt out your cigarette before you walk away.
Keep matches and cigarette lighters out of reach of children.

Fires commonly start from improperly discarded cigarettes.

Unsafe cigarette disposal includes butting out cigarettes into flammable containers such as items made of paper, plastic or wood. Flicked butts have caused large fires in high-rise apartment buildings as well as major bushfires.

Victorian fire services’ key message is “stick it, don’t flick it”.

A heavy, high-sided ashtray made from glass or metal is the safest way to dispose of cigarette butts. An empty glass or aluminium drink container is a safe alternative.

Before emptying an ashtray into the bin, ensure all cigarettes and ash have been extinguished. This can be done by pouring some water on the ash.

All homes in Victoria must have a working smoke alarm. If smoking occurs in the home, there should be a smoke alarm in every room where smoking may occur.

Victorian fire services recommend smoke alarms connected to 240-volt mains power with a 10-year battery backup or alarms powered by a 10-year, long-life battery.

When more than one smoke alarm is installed in a home, they should be interconnected so that when any alarm activates, all smoke alarms will sound.

For more information on smoke alarms click here.

Smoking Practices

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