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Tobacco fire
-Don't littering cigarettes or sleeping tobacco~
Last Updated October 23, 2024
Current status of fires caused by tobacco in Yokohama City
Because tobacco fires are small, it may be hard to imagine that they can cause a fire and cause serious damage.
Due to the spread of electronic cigarettes and the decline in smoking rates, fires caused by tobacco may shift to a declining trend, but it occupies the top every year among all fires in Yokohama City, and finally became the top cause of all fires in 2022.
Let's reconfirm the actual situation of fire caused by tobacco and how to prevent it.
Major causes of fires in Yokohama City
※Electric equipment ➡ Wiring equipment such as home appliances and batteries ➡ wall outlets, table taps, etc.
Over the past five years from 2019 to 2023, there have been 214 house fires caused by tobacco in Yokohama City.
Among the causes of fires, it is the second most common after <Konro>, and caution is required when smoking.
Fire cases and countermeasures
The temperature of the surface that comes in contact with combustibles of lit tobacco is about 200 ° C to 300 ° C. The fire is small, so even if you touch the surrounding garbage or cloth, the flame does not rise immediately. However, one of the characteristics of the fire caused by tobacco is that it continues to smoke slowly (flameless combustion) and ignites after a while.
Fires may not rise immediately, so a fire may occur after a family member goes out or sleeps.
Case 1 Fire from the trash can
In this trash can
I've thrown away a cigarette that hasn't disappeared completely.
About 5 minutes later, a large amount of smoke issued a fire alarm for homes.
About 9 minutes later, a fire broke out from the trash can
About 10 minutes later, the fire spread around.
About 15 minutes later, a big flame
After the fire is extinguished
Points to Prevent
・Soak the butts in water and make sure they are completely extinguished before discarding them in the recycle bin.
・Use trash cans to throw away tobacco and trash cans to store other trash.
・Don't use plastic in the trash cans that throw away tobacco.
・Do not use cup ramen containers or plastic bottles as ashtrays.
※In the case shown above, a residential fire alarm alerted the fire about 5 minutes after throwing the tobacco in the recycle bin. If you were aware at this point, you may not have taken care of it. Residential fire alarms are effective for early detection of fires.
Case 2 Sleeping tobacco (tobacco fell on futon)
He drinked and entered the futon and lit the cigarette, but fell asleep and the cigarette fell on the futon. A cigarette fire burns into a futon, causing a fire
The tobacco placed on the ashtray falls without realizing it
One minute later, the batting of the futon is burned (even if smoked) with a cigarette fire, and the temperature is 150 ° C or more).
About 5 minutes after the fall, the fire is spreading.
About 20 minutes after the fall, the range of the fire spread further.
About 24 minutes later, the fire range reached the tissue box and fire broke out.
About 5 minutes after the fire broke out
About 7 minutes after the fire broke out
About eight minutes later, the fire goes around the entire room.
After the fire is extinguished
Points to Prevent
・I never sleep.
・I don't smoke on the futon.
・Use flame retardant bedding.
Case 3 Butts accumulated in the ashtray
By putting a lit cigarette into a glass ashtray with butts accumulated, it burns flamelessly with other tobacco in the ashtray, cracks the high-temperature ashtray, spills the butts in the ashtray, It comes into contact with the surrounding miscellaneous items and fires.
Points to Prevent
・Discard the butts accumulated in the ashtray frequently
・Fill the ashtray with water and make sure that the fire has gone out.
Case 4 Veranda balcony
I left the cigarette butts on the planter on the veranda and went out.
Over time, cigarette butts ignite the hay in the planter, causing a fire.
Points to Prevent
・Avoid smoking outdoors on windy days, as there is a risk of fire from tobacco fires flying.
・When smoking, make sure that there are no flammable materials around.
※Smoking in the home advances, and many people may smoke on veranda or balcony. In addition to flame-free combustion, which is a characteristic of a cigarette-caused fire, verandas and balconies are not always in a human environment, so their discovery is delayed.
Case 5 Littering
・Someone dumped tobacco, which was inadequately treated with fire, on the riverbed, ignited the overgrown hay and fired it.
Points to Prevent
・Understand that littering cigarettes can lead to serious damage.
Learn about fire prevention and disaster prevention through video
At the Yokohama Disaster Prevention e-park, a website where you can learn about disaster prevention anytime, anywhere, you can easily learn about fire dangers lurking in houses such as clothing ignition and specific measures for each with videos and quizzes. I can do it.
There are various courses, such as the "Pokemon Bosai Kyoshitsu" quiz where you can enjoy learning with small children, and the "Housing Disaster Prevention Diagnosis" to check the status of disaster prevention measures at home, so please use it!
You can access it from the button below!
Fire survey e-mail magazine
City of Yokohama, Fire Bureau Prevention Section Fire Investigator distributes fire prevention information around 15 days a month.
Please register by all means.
Click here to register for distribution ⇒http://ml.city.yokohama.jp/mailman/listinfo/kasaichousa
Inquiries to this page
Prevention Division, Fire Bureau Prevention Department
Telephone: 045-334-6406
Telephone: 045-334-6406
Fax: 045-334-6610
Email address: sy-yobo@city.yokohama.lg.jp
Page ID: 521-160-308
