Fires sparked by careless smokers cost $4.1 million
For people who smoke outside on their decks or balconies, Wayne Pawlowski has a message.
"Don't dispose of your smokers' materials in peat moss planters," Pawlowski, chief of fire investigations, said Thursday.
Improper disposal of cigarettes led to fires that caused $4.1 million in damage in the first five months of 2010.
That's more than the amount of damage caused in the previous two years combined.
Carelessly throwing away cigarettes, matches and other smoking materials has caused 20 fires this year.
The fires have killed one person and injured another.
In 2009, 65 fires caused $1.8 million in damage, and in 2008, $1.9 million in damage was caused by 67 fires.
Pawlowski said tossing a cigarette into a planter filled with peat moss may not immediately start a fire, but the peat will hold heat and continue to smoulder.
That heat could then melt the plastic of a plant pot and start a fire.
"Those fires that are outside, they often go undetected. There's no smoke alarms out there," he said.
The fire may not be noticed until it gets into a house or building or somebody drives by and sees it, Pawlowski added.
Ashtrays or empty coffee tins with sand or water are recommended over plant pots or throwing a cigarette on the ground.
A March fire caused $3.5 million in damage to a condo complex on 116th Street and 107th Avenue.
It was started by the improper disposal of smokers' materials, Pawlowski said.
apeters@thejournal.canwest.com
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