Recently, the news that cigarette butts fell from the sky to the bed sheets of sleeping children were scorched aroused the attention of netizens, and the incident occurred in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province on September 22. The child's mother, Ms. Li, said that when she returned from the kitchen, she found a cigarette butt next to the child's leg and almost lit the quilt. Judging from the traces at the scene, it is speculated that the cigarette butts were probably thrown onto the bay window and then bounced onto the bed.
On September 26, the Liangzhu Sub-district Office of Yuhang District, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province issued a notice on this matter: Regarding the online rumor that "cigarette butts fell from the sky to the bed sheets of sleeping children were burned" in a residential area of the street, after investigation by the local police station, the suspect Wang Moumou has been found in the high-altitude throwing object. At present, the suspect has been controlled by the public security organs, and the case is being further investigated.
This case is not unique
Discard cigarette butts in your daily life
It could be a big disaster↓↓
On May 21, 2024, a fire broke out in a high-rise residential building in Wulidian Street, Fengtai District, Beijing. After investigation, the cause of the fire was that a resident on the 28th floor of the residential building threw an unextinguished cigarette butt out of the window, and the cigarette butt hit the wall and rebounded into the balcony of the resident on the 27th floor, igniting the debris placed on the balcony, resulting in a fire.
On December 21, 2023, a fire broke out in a self-built house in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu. After inquiring about the householder at the scene, it was learned that the cause of the fire was that the elderly of the homeowner littered cigarette butts and ignited the surrounding combustibles.
On September 16, 2022, a serious fire broke out in the Changsha Telecom Building, with an area of about 3,600 square meters on the exterior wall and about 400 square meters on the inside, and the direct property loss was as high as 7.9136 million yuan. After investigation, the direct cause of the fire accident was that the unextinguished cigarette butts ignited the combustibles such as corrugated paper, rotten wood, broken wood, and bamboo plywood on the outdoor platform, which in turn ignited the decorative aluminum-plastic panels on the exterior walls of the building and caused the fire.
Tiny cigarette butts
Why do fires start?
01
High core temperature
The temperature of the center of the cigarette butt is up to 700-800°C, and the temperature at the burning edge of the roll paper is 200-300°C. The ignition point of general combustibles, such as paper, cotton, firewood, wood, etc., is 130-390 °C, which is lower than the temperature of cigarette butts. Cigarette butts can cause many combustible substances to burn, which in turn can cause fires.
02
Smoldering properties
The combustion of cigarettes is smoldering, a slow-burning phenomenon without a flame that does not produce a flame, but also releases a large amount of heat. Many solid substances, such as paper, sawdust, fabrics, etc., can be smoldering.
03
High concealment and long burning time
Leftover cigarette butts typically last for 1 to 4 minutes, during which time many flammable items can be ignited. Sometimes cigarette butts are thrown in quilts and sawdust, and they have to smolder for dozens of minutes, which is not easy to be noticed and dangerous!
Although the cigarette butt is small, the fire is endless
Bad habits to avoid smoking↓↓
In addition to discarding cigarette butts at will
The case also involved high-altitude projectiles
How to determine the responsibility for high-altitude throwing objects?
The Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the Tort Liability Part of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China (I) stipulates that if a high-altitude thrown object or falling object causes damage to others, the specific infringer is the first responsible entity, and the property service enterprise that fails to take the necessary safety measures bears the supplementary liability in the second place; If the specific infringer cannot be determined, the property management service enterprise and other building managers who have not taken the necessary security measures shall first bear the responsibility corresponding to their fault. The user of the building who may have caused the damage shall be appropriately compensated for the damage of the remaining part of the infringed party. After assuming responsibility, the above-mentioned responsible entity has the right to recover compensation from the specific infringer determined in the future.
Throwing cigarette butts from high altitudes causes a fire
What penalties may the perpetrators face?
If a fire is caused by a cigarette butt thrown at a height, the perpetrator will face administrative penalties and bear civil tort liability depending on the severity of the consequences, and criminal liability if the circumstances are serious. Whoever negligently causes a fire and constitutes the crime of fire according to the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years; where the circumstances are more minor, a sentence of up to three years imprisonment or short-term detention is to be given. Knowing that one's actions may cause a fire but still ignoring it may be found to be an indirect intentional crime, and the penalty will be escalated. The Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China stipulates that anyone who throws objects from buildings or other heights in serious circumstances shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than one year, criminal detention or surveillance, and shall be fined concurrently or severally.
"Overhead" security cannot be overlooked
How to prevent "flying disasters"?
↓↓↓
The big thing "above the head" is about life!
Refuse to litter cigarette butts
Refuse to throw objects from high altitudes
It starts with you and me!
Source: Produced by the China Emergency Management Newspaper and Financial Media Work Department