Smoking is a prevalent cause of accidental domestic property fires in England. The risk is even higher for people who smoke and use either emollient creams or supplemental oxygen.

Follow the advice on this page to help mitigate the risks caused by smoking, emollient usage and supplemental oxygen.

If you or someone in your home smokes you can take the following simple steps to prevent a fire from happening in your home.

• Use a proper ashtray – never a wastepaper basket;
• Make sure your ashtray can’t tip over and is made of a material that won’t burn;
• Take extra care if you smoke when you’re tired, taking medication, or if you’ve been drinking;
• Keep matches and lighters out of children’s reach;
• Consider buying child resistant lighters and matchboxes;
• Never smoke in bed;
• Don’t leave lit cigarettes, cigars or pipes unattended. They can easily start a fire.

Emollient products, which include creams, ointments, sprays and body wash formulations are used by millions of people every day to manage dry, itchy or scaly skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis and ichthyosis. 

They may contain paraffin or other ingredients such as shea or cocoa butter, beeswax, lanolin, nut oil or mineral oils which can leave a flammable residue. These emollients are not flammable in themselves, but the risk occurs when they absorb into fabrics and are then exposed to naked flames or heat sources resulting in a fire that burns quickly and intensely and can cause serious injury or death.

Both paraffin and non-paraffin emollients can act as an accelerant when absorbed into clothing and exposed to naked flames or other heat sources.

To help protect yourself, follow these simple safety steps:

• Avoid Flames and Heat: Emollient users should keep fabrics contaminated with emollient residue away from naked flames, cigarettes, and other heat sources.
• Never smoke in bed;
• Do not smoke if there is any chance your clothing or dressings could be contaminated with these products;
• Do not cook with gas or electric hobs, if there is any chance your clothing or dressings could be contaminated with these products;
• Do not sit too close to any open fires, gas fires or halogen heaters.
• Regularly Wash Contaminated Fabrics: Wash your clothing and bedding daily at the highest temperature recommended by the fabric care instructions. This should reduce some of the contamination but will not remove it completely and so washing fabrics does not completely remove the fire risk.

• Know the Fire Risk – NFCC – information about fire safety and emollient skin products
• NFCC Know the Risks Leaflet

Alternatively, you can find more information in this leaflet on emollients and fire safety.

Read through the safety advice if you or someone you know is an oxygen user. 

• Read the user instruction manual before operating your medical oxygen equipment;
• Make sure your home has working smoke alarms – test the batteries weekly;
• Make an emergency escape plan. If you would have difficulty escaping in an emergency, always keep a phone within easy reach;
• Never smoke or let someone else smoke near you whilst using your oxygen equipment. This includes the use of e-cigarettes;
• Never charge or let anyone charge batteries of e-cigarettes near you or the oxygen source;
• Do not use your oxygen equipment near an open flame. Oxygen should be kept at least 3m away from open flames.

Alternatively, you can find more information in this leaflet on oxygen usage.