Smokers’ materials (i.e. cigarettes, cigars or pipe tobacco) were the most frequent source of ignition causing accidental dwelling fire deaths, accounting for just over a third of all accidental dwelling fire deaths in 2005. Tobacco is designed to stay lit, which is why cigarettes can so easily start an accidental fire. For every 1,000 fires where smokers’ materials were the source, 35 people are killed.

The injury rate was highest for fires caused by cigarette lighters - 495 per 1,000 fires, a total of 216 injuries in 2005.  During this year, fires started by matches also resulted in 143 injuries.
(Source - Communities and Local Government, Fire Statistics, United Kingdom, 2005)

Nearly a third of all households in England include a smoker and these households are nearly 35% more likely to have a fire than non-smoking homes.

Cigarettes, cigars & pipes
Fires caused by cigarettes and smoking materials can be prevented by taking a few simple precautions:

• Take extra care when you're tired, taking prescription drugs or have been drinking alcohol. It's very easy to fall asleep without realising that your cigarette is still burning.
• If you need to lie down, don't light up. You could easily doze off and set your bed or sofa on fire.
• Don't leave lit cigarettes, cigars or pipes unattended - they can easily overbalance as they burn down, land on a carpet or newspaper and start a fire. When you put it out, make sure it really is out.
• Every year children die from starting fires with cigarettes, matches and lighters which they shouldn't have. Keep these where children can't reach them.
• Where possible, buy child-resistant lighters and matchboxes.
• Use a proper, heavy ashtray which can't tip over easily and is made of a material that won't burn.
• Tap your ash into an ashtray - never a wastebasket - and don't let the ash or cigarette ends build up in the ashtray.
• make sure you have a working smoke alarm on each floor level in your home
 

 
Using candles
• Keep candles where children and pets can't reach them, away from draughts and away from anything that can easily catch fire (for example, furniture, curtains or newspapers).
• Make sure the candle is standing up straight and is fixed firmly in a proper holder so that it can't fall over. Scented candles turn to liquid in order to release their fragrance, so always burn them in a suitable glass or metal container that can withstand the heat of the liquid and that the liquid cannot leak from.
• Always place candles on a heat-resistant surface. Night lights and tea lights can melt plastic surfaces, such as the top of a TV and the side of a bath tub.
• Don't lean across a candle - you could set your hair or clothes on fire.
• Always leave at least 10cm (4 inches) between two burning candles and never place them under shelves or other surfaces.
• Don't play with candles (for example, by putting matchsticks or anything else into the hot wax).
• Always put candles out before you move them. Using a 'snuffer' or a spoon is safer than blowing them out, which can send sparks and hot wax flying.