The U.S. Fire Administration began a public-education campaign about the dangers of smoking and home fires. The campaign is designed to alert smokers and those who live with smokers about simple steps they can take to prevent fires in their home.

“Most smoking-related home fires happen on beds, furniture, or in trash when smokers do not put cigarettes all the way out, toss hot ashes in the trash or fall asleep while smoking,” said U.S. Fire Administrator Gregory B. Cade. “What’s important to remember is that smoking home fires can easily be prevented. It just takes a few seconds to light up — and a few seconds to make sure that cigarette is really out.”

Cade said that nationally, 23% (46 million) of adults are smokers, and in some states reaches as high as 28.7%. Every year, about 1,000 people are killed in smoking-related home fires. According to the USFA, one-in-four people killed in home fires is not the smoker whose cigarette caused the fire. In fact, 34% were children of the smokers and 25% were neighbors or friends of the smokers.

USFA’s Smoking & Home Fires Campaign is a partnership with 13 organizations including the American Fire Sprinkler Association, Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturer’s Association, Burn Foundation, The Center for Campus Fire Safety, Florida Association of Fire and Life Safety Educators, Home Safety Council, International Association of Fire Chiefs and its Fire and Life Safety Section, National Association of Hispanic Firefighters, National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, Polyurethane Foam Association, Residential Fire Safety Institute, and Safe Kids Worldwide.

The campaign materials include a CD Toolkit with English and Spanish posters, brochures, fact sheets, public service announcements, PowerPoint presentations, a video of a smoking-home fire demonstration, and more. The materials are available at www.usfa.dhs.gov/smoking