PLEASE Don’t Throw Your Cigarette Butts Out The Window

Throwing a cigarette butt out of your vehicles window is not only littering, it could cause a bark dust or grass fire that could lead to thousands of dollars in property damage or worse.

Salem-News.com

(SALEM) - While I’m not opposed to people and their right as Americans to smoke, as a new home owner, I’m a little disgusted over the number of smokers who throw their butts out the window for others to pick up.

Our house runs right along highly traveled Browning Ave in south Salem, and it seems like an every day chore, right along with mowing the grass, laundry, and house work, to go outside and pick up the previous day's butts.

Some days there are only two or three, other days, like Sunday, 20 or more.

Not only is it an eye sore, but most of the butts end up in our bark dust or blown onto the grass. I can only imagine what would happen if one of those discarded cigarettes were to stay lit and catch fire, if I didn’t water those down every day.

Now I don’t want it to seem that I’m raging on smokers, but I don’t want to lose my house over someone throwing their five cent, or what ever they cost per pack, cigarette out the window and starting a fire that burns my house to the ground.

I’m sure there are other homeowners out there that agree with me, smokers or not.

Keizer Fire District spokesman Jim Trett noted that when people simply throw cigarette butts away and they land in material like bark dust, they may smolder for several hours before actually igniting a fire. To make matters worse, a fire in bark dust may burn under the surface, undetected, until the fire reaches a structure and begin a structure fire.

In 2005 the Keizer Fire District responded to a total of 21 bark dust fires that caused damage to structures, landscaping and fences.

So far in 2006, firefighters have already responded to reports of 10 bark dust fires, with dollar losses that have reached last year's level.

Fire officials would like to remind people that they should always discard cigarettes in the ash tray of their vehicles, or find an appropriate place to discard cigarette butts if walking or at bus stops.

Please, use your vehicle's ashtray, or if walking or at a bus stop, find an appropriate place to discard your cigarette butt.

Here are some other suggestions to be sure you are not responsible for a tragedy:

Have ash trays available and be sure to use them.

At picnics and gatherings, have a group ash tray or can and be sure it is used by everyone who smokes.

At home, be sure landscaping is well watered and not to close to the house.