Who does not know that smoking cigarettes or other smoking material is bad for you? While the heart and lung health approach is correct, some fail to realize that smoking is a real fire hazard for homeowners, renters, business operators, and more. Smoking is the scrooge responsible for most fires in houses and other structures. It is also the number one trigger for forest and wildfires. Fires caused by smokers cause devastating damage and loss, including tragic and irreplaceable loss of life.

Home insurance professionals remind policyholders that although there is coverage for fire accidents caused by smoking, losses will generally not be fully compensated after a related claim has been filed.

The best way to reduce the risks of a fire associated with smoking is to take the following simple course of action put forward by the insurance industry.

8 Ways Smokers Can Reduce Property Fire Risk

• Never smoke while resting in bed. If you fall asleep Studies indicate that many people fall asleep with a cigarette in hand, causing the fire to spread from the sheets, mattress and bed to the entire house.
• Do not light up after swallowing a medication with warnings about the possibility of drowsiness. You may find yourself in the same situation as the smoker in bed who falls asleep and starts a fire. Always put out your cigarette before throwing it away. Live embers can easily start a fire.
• Do not throw recently used ashtrays in a trash receptacle where things can easily start a full-blown fire. Used cigarettes, the hot ash that emanates from them, and the matches used to light them can be a dangerous catalyst for fire once they come in contact with combustible material.
• Be aware of your surroundings and, when smoking, stay away from flammable places such as gas stations or items that can easily generate sparks, such as gasoline, paints, aerosol cans, paper reading material, and easily exploded medical oxygen tanks.
• Never place an ashtray next to flammable items or on a window where the wind could blow its contents away, setting the stage for a fire.
• When outside, always dispose of your cigarettes and smoking materials properly in a wide ashtray, water container, or sand.
• Be very careful to keep cigarettes and related smoking materials out of the way so that children cannot get their hands on them.

For information on home, property and fire insurance, talk to an experienced insurance agency.