Monday, January 21, 2013

Hamilton Fires and Smoking

How many fires in Hamilton, especially house fires in the lower city are started by smoking? Seems like a lot, including the fire today in a house on Murry Street. From this Spec article on the fire:


In the Murray St. incident, firefighters suspect the fire started due to smoking and “improper disposal of smoking material” on the first floor in the living room, he said.

Damages were extensive, but the total costs are unknown at this time. Fire gutted the inside and the house in inhabitable.

I'm not really sure what we can do about this problem, apart from programs to help smokers quit. Focusing on the lower city would help both for smokers' health and cutting down on fire costs. Maybe encourage electronic cigarettes? I'm not sure what they are like as a fire risk.

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