FIRE STARTERS
This cigarette looks innocent sitting there by itself, but aside from the health issues it can cause, this little cigarette can cause widespread destruction and destroy people’s lives simply by being tossed out of a moving vehicle or carelessly discarded while still lit. We’ve all seen it; someone in a car flicks a lit cigarette out of a car while driving down the road. The person who discarded the cigarette thinks nothing of it as they travel on their way. But other people will have to deal with the consequences of what can happen.
A lit cigarette in dry grass is like a flaming match in gasoline. Once the cigarette is flicked out of a moving vehicle, it does not disappear. It usually stays lit and is bounced around the road by other moving vehicles or by wind. Sometimes the lit cigarette is run over and snuffed out, sometimes it is carried to the side of the road where it simply burns out, but all too often, the lit cigarette is tossed or carried into the dry brush or weeds on the side of the road where it smolders for a short time before erupting into flames.
If it is a windy, hot day, this can spell tragedy for many people.
If the cigarette starts a fire on a hot windy day, the fire can travel fast and destroy people’s homes. Lives can be lost to those trapped in the fires path and millions of dollars in property damage can quickly be lost.
Also, those trying to put out the fires risk their lives everyday. Recently, air tanker firefighters lost their lives when their plane crashed while trying to help put out a wildfire. Firefighters often get injured or even lose their lives trying to put out fires that were carelessly started.
In a rural area, a fire can quickly spread to hundreds and thousands of acres. The loss of wildlife and property can be devastating. I’m sure you’ve all seen blackened hillsides as you drive down the road. Recently in my city, several condominiums were destroyed alongside a freeway after a lit cigarette tossed out of a car ignited dry grass on the shoulder. The fire quickly raced up the embankment where it engulfed the condominiums. Numerous families were displaced and firefighters risked their lives fighting a fire caused by a cigarette tossed out of a car carelessly.
The destruction and aftermath of a large fire can be devastating. People lose loved ones in fires and often lose irreplaceable heirlooms, photos, and memorabilia that can never be replaced. People often have to flee the path of a fire wearing only the clothes on their back. People have to rebuild their lives starting from scratch. Living with friends or relatives, or in a motel room, they have nothing.
People who toss cigarettes from cars don’t think about what can happen. But they should. It’s illegal to toss anything out of a car (littering), but it’s a costlier fine for tossing anything lit out of a car. This includes matches, cigarettes, cigars, ashes, etc. If you toss a lit cigarette from a car, it can cost you over $200 with a traffic ticket. Some areas are posted with a $500 fine. If the cigarette causes a fire and you are found responsible, you will pay the firefighting cost and property damage loss (which can quickly climb to hundreds of thousands of dollars). If someone gets injured or killed in a fire caused by you, or a firefighter gets injured or killed fighting the fire, you will be held accountable or even brought up on charges in a court of law.
Take a look at the following statistics of an actual California fire and see if you’d like to be financially or criminally responsible if you caused this fire.
Fire Statistics
Deaths……………………………………………………………………………25
Injuries………………………………………………………………………..150
Single Family Dwellings Destroyed……………………………..2,843
Single Family Dwellings Damaged…………………………………193
Apartment Units Destroyed…………………………………………..433
Total Living Units Damaged or Destroyed…………………..3,469
Total Acreage Burned by the Fire……………………………….1,520
Fire Perimeter…………………………………………………….5.25 Miles
Estimated Dollar Fire Loss……………………………$1,537,000,000
Look at the dollar amount of the above fire. If you flicked a cigarette out of a car causing a fire like this, I hope the cigarette was worth it. If you cause a fire that kills someone, you have to live with it. Fires are horrible and devastating. They cause lifelong mental and physical scars. Some fires are started by unpredictable and unpreventable causes such as lightening strikes, downed power lines, etc. But many are caused by discarded cigarettes, matches, cigars, and unattended campfires. If camping or backpacking, pour water on campfires before leaving them unattended. Stir them to make sure embers aren’t still lit deep underneath that can start a devastating wildfire after you leave.
Please, if you smoke, use the ashtray in your car. If it’s full of change, empty the change and use the ashtray for what it’s made for, to put out cigarettes. Some people crush the cigarette in an ashtray then toss it out so they don’t have a “smelly†car. If you don’t want a smelly car, quit smoking or don’t smoke in the car. Crushing or “pinching†the hot ash off a cigarette usually doesn’t work. Even the smallest piece of tobacco still lit (barely visible to the eye) will relight the cigarette after it is tossed out.
If you don’t have an ashtray or you don’t want to use your car ashtray, buy a small portable ashtray for boats or cars, they usually have a sandbag bottom for weight to put on your dash, seat, etc. Or, fill a cup partially with water and keep it in your drink tray. You can drop your ashes and unwanted cigarette butts in the cup of water. That way they are 100% out and you can throw the cup away when you want. Please, don’t just toss a cigarette out a car window or while walking along the street. Look at the above photos again and think about what can happen.
