Beware of cigarette butts, a common fire hazard

[guest]

Ottawa Fire Service is reminding residents to be careful where they put their burning cigarettes.

The warning comes after a Thursday evening Stittsville blaze left seven people, including at least two families, displaced.

Two other fires this month were caused by errant smokes, one on Wednesday at 318 Reynolds Drive and another on Sunday at the Black Dog Bistro on Manotick Main Street.

Here are some of useful tips:

• Don’t extinguish cigarettes in plant pots, which often contain a mixture of peat moss, shredded wood and bark that can easily ignite.
• If you live in a highrise building, don’t toss your cigarette off your balcony, it could land on a balcony below and start a fire.
• Don’t discard cigarette butts under decks. Dry debris underneath could ignite.
• Use large, deep ashtrays that can’t be knocked over. A large can filled with sand works well.
• Empty ashes into a metal container — not the garbage can — and put it outside.
• If people have been smoking in your home, check behind chair and sofa cushions for cigarette butts before going to bed.
• Install smoke alarms on every storey and outside sleeping areas. For added protection, install a smoke alarm in every bedroom, especially those of smokers.
• Test smoke alarms every month and replace the batteries at least once per year.

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