Thanks to the vigorous efforts of social organizations and government agencies, the devastating effects of long-term tobacco use are well-known to most Americans. The surgeon general’s warning found on every pack of cigarettes sold in the U.S. is perhaps the best demonstration of this shared cultural concern, drawing attention to a startling number of potential complications and diseases.

However, smokers and those around them are not so routinely warned of another life-threatening danger often associated with tobacco products. A still-smoldering cigarette butt tossed into a trashcan or around other flammable materials is the culprit in thousands of fatal blazes across the country every year, accounting for hundreds of dollars in damages and the loss of human life.

One of the biggest problems involved in cigarette fires is the very fact that there are so many smokers, and thus millions of opportunities for a single butt to ignite every day. Private residences and the few businesses that have not banned indoor smoking are at a major risk for these types of fires. Apart from failing to adequately extinguish a butt, a smoker who falls asleep with cigarette in hand or leaves one still burning unattended is a threat to all those in the area.

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Fires in apartments can be especially deadly, spreading from floor to floor in minutes. If you or someone you love has been affected by a cigarette-related fire and you think a smoker’s negligence was at fault, contact the experienced Chicago house fire lawyers of Friedman & Bonebrake, P.C., today by calling 312-466-8200.