Massachusetts Department of Fire Services is reminding the community that outdoor fires are often preventable because they usually begin with human behavior, and smoking materials remain one of the most common and dangerous sources of ignition. The agency’s guidance may sound simple: if you smoke, put it out all the way, every time, but it’s often overlooked when you’re busy or lost in thought. That message matters because a cigarette, cigar, or other smoking material that is not fully extinguished can smolder unnoticed before sparking a fire in on a couch, bed, mulch pile, or trash container. This can cause not just damage to property or furniture, but can also destroy homes and lives.
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