Careless smoking seems to be an especially lethal fire problem in Philadelphia, where Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers reported in May that smoking was responsible for a quarter of the city's fire deaths last year and 39% so far this year.

That's about double the national fire death rate from residential smoking, according to data analysts with the U.S. Fire Administration's National Fire Data Center. Nationwide, smoking is the cause for about 19.2% of residential structure fire deaths, and was only recently edged out as the number-one cause of fatalities by “incendiary or suspicious” causes (22.2%) in 2002 NFIRS data.

The higher death and injury rates of residential smoking fires may be related to when and where smoking fires tend to occur, according to NFDC data analysts. Many smoking fires originate in the bedroom, late in the night after victims have fallen asleep. More often than not, the victims were involved with starting the fire.

“The number of fatalities attributed to residential fires caused by smoking continues to decline along with fire fatalities overall,” said Alex Furr, director of the NFDC. “However, on a per-fire basis, smoking fires are the most lethal and among the most injurious of residential fires.”

Philadelphia is tackling the problem with a new public education campaign aimed at smokers. “Dying for a Cigarette … Take it Outside” urges smokers to smoke outdoors. The campaign will post about 110 billboards throughout the city, and firefighters were going door-to-door, handing out pamphlets on the hazards of careless smoking and smoking indoors.