Smoking is not only a major public hazard that threatens physical health, but also one of the biggest causes of fire accidents. Therefore, the Wuhan Fire Brigade reminds residents that "a single spark can start a prairie fire". They must not be careless or take a small cigarette butt lightly. They must pay attention to ten safety precautions, such as not littering cigarette butts and not smoking in dangerous environments, to prevent fires caused by smoking.
For the purpose of prevention, we have classified smoking related fires into the following 10 situations and remind residents to pay attention: firstly, smoking while lying in bed or on the sofa; Secondly, they are careless and casually throw cigarette butts and matchsticks around regardless of the occasion; Thirdly, smoking while repairing cars and cleaning parts; Fourthly, when searching for items while holding a cigarette, cigarette ash falls onto combustible materials, causing a fire; Fifth, regardless of the location, randomly knocking cigarette ash can cause fires; Sixth, in a hurry, putting an unextinguished cigarette butt into a pocket of clothing can ignite the clothes and cause a fire; 7. Improper use of lighters can cause fires; Smoking in places where fire is strictly prohibited can cause fire and explosion accidents; Nine is to casually place lit cigarettes on combustible materials, such as desks or boxes. When people leave, the fireworks are not extinguished, resulting in a fire; Or it may cause a fire due to the cigarette butts being blown off by the wind, leading to combustible materials; Ten is smoking after getting drunk.
Why does smoking easily cause fires? The main reason is that the lit cigarette has a higher temperature. According to testing, the center temperature of the lit cigarette butt is around 700 ℃, and a cigarette burns continuously for about 15 minutes, which is a relatively long time. The self ignition point of common combustibles is very low, such as paper, cotton, linen, and their fabrics. Their ignition points are mostly between 200 ℃ and 300 ℃, while the temperature of a cigarette after ignition is 2-3 times higher than that of these solid combustibles. Therefore, unextinguished cigarette butts are sufficient to cause ignition of solid combustibles and flammable liquids and gases. In general, fire accidents caused by cigarette butts require a period of flameless smoldering. When the temperature reaches the ignition point of a substance, it can ignite and eventually spread into a disaster. In windy days or high oxygen environments, its combustion rate is quite fast, and this situation mostly occurs in places where no one pays attention or discovers it. It is often discovered later, and once discovered, it has already spread into a disaster.