Smoking direct cause of more than 30 fires

Whilst many people may be thinking about the health risks of smoking during National No Smoking Day tomorrow (Wednesday 11 March), Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service is urging Rochdale residents to think about the fire risk linked to smoking.

There were 31 fires involving smoking materials in Rochdale last year, a slight decrease on the 35 that occurred in 2007.

Households that have a smoker are nearly 35% more likely to have a fire than non smoking homes. In the UK between 2000 and 2005 on average there were 132 deaths per year in accidental home fires caused by smoking materials. A third of these fires occur between 10pm and 3am so the fire service is urging people to quit or take care if smoking at home, particularly in the evening.

Last year in Greater Manchester the fire service attended 300 incidents in homes as a result of careless use of smoking materials.