Download or read book The Smoking-material Fire Problem written by John Raymond Hall and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2008, U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated 114,800 smoking-material fires in the U.S, down from 140,700 in 2007. These fires resulted in an estimated 680 civilian deaths, 1,520 civilian injuries and $737 million in direct property damage. Upholstered furniture and mattresses and bedding are the first items ignited for most home structure fatal fires started by smoking materials. One out of four fatal victims of smoking-materials is not the smoker whose cigarette started the fire. Most deaths from smoking-material fires result from fires that started in living rooms, family rooms, and dens or in bedrooms.In recent years, Canada and all U.S. states have passed legislation requiring that all cigarettes sold be "fire safe, that is, have sharply reduced ignition strength (ability to start fires), as determined by ASTM Standard E2187-04. When these laws are fully implemented, it is currently projected that smoking-material structure fire deaths will be down by 56-77% from 2003, the last year before any state implemented the law.