Cigarettes As A Fire Hazard

Fire protection equipment is a broad family. It includes produces intended to combat fires, alarms to alert people to the possibility of a fire, and also quite a few items that are intended to prevent fires in the first place. Some special fire safety products cross over between two of those categories. Cigarette smoke alarms are amongst them.

Cigarettes can cause serious fires. If hastily disposed of (as they often are) the ashes can easily ignite paper. In fact, cigarette butts idly tossed out car windows are thought to have caused extremely damaging wild fires in countries like Australia and the USA, where a small dry grass fire by the roadside might spread very quickly. Even in an urban environment glowing butts thrown into a bin can lead to a fire either indoors or out.

For this reason it’s very important to make sure that smokers stick to the designated areas. Enforcing a no smoking policy means more than sticking to the letter of the law on a business premises. It also eliminates the chance of a bathroom or waste paper bin erupting in flames and causing serious property damage and panic, or worse. Extinguishers may be the most important fire protection equipment in an office or shop but cigarette smoke alarms can certainly be very helpful. Of course, they’ll also make sure that business owners don’t have to worry about the smell of smoke getting into products or putting off visitors.

While it’s a long stretch to list ashtrays as fire safety products, it’s also a good idea for businesses to provide them in designated smoking zones. This will give people a safe and convenient way to dispose of their refuse, prevent littering and make sure that no unintended consequences arise from a casually flicked butt. For best results, it is possible to use ashtrays filled with sand or another substance that will effectively quash any smouldering embers before they can do any harm.

The Article is written by safelincs.co.uk providing fire protection and fire safety equipment. Visit www.safelincs.co.uk for more information on safelincs.co.uk Products & Services!