Warning: fire danger of cigarettes put out in plant pots

Lily Ryan

Dormant plant roots are highly flammable. Putting out a cigarette in a plant pot can be a silent killer. It can take hours and even days before the smoldering roots show evidence of danger: without smoke or flames.

Indeed, firefighters note that several area fires were started in this manner last year, with sometimes over a day between the action of putting out the fire and a wind fanning the heat into a flame. The same is true for cigarettes put out in dry ground. They should be not only stamped out, but observed to verify the heat is truly dissipated (ideally with water).

Photo caption: Firefighters warn residents to never put out a cigarette in a plant pot as the risk of smoldering roots is high, leading to damaging flames.