North Wales Fire Service warns of danger of careless smoking

North Wales Fire and Rescue Service have highlighted the dangers of carelessly discarded smoking materials.

The warning follows two smoking related fires within the space of a few hours in Denbighshire.

Firefighters attended a fire at a house in Llangollen on 27^th March at around 6.30am after a resident smelt smoke coming from a lodger’s room. The fire had been caused by smoking material being discarded in a waste paper basket.

Firefighters also attended a fire caused in the same way at a semi detached property in Rhyl on the same day.

Gwyn Jones, Community Safety Manager for Conwy and Denbighshire said: “These incidents clearly highlight the dangers of not extinguishing cigarettes properly in suitable containers. It is vital to make sure all smoking materials are put out safely, especially before bed time. The best way to cut the risk is not to smoke indoors at all. Many smoking related fires happen at night when people fall asleep or smoke in bed and furniture or fabrics are set alight. Worryingly, research shows that smokers are less likely than non-smokers to have working smoke alarms which could alert them to the dangers and give the chance of escape.”