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ICC News

Cigarette Fire Safety Program

In 2002, legislation was enacted requiring the New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control to promulgate a fire safety standard for cigarettes offered for sale in New York State. This unprecedented step in public fire prevention, establishing a means to curb incidents of cigarette caused fires, was the first of its type anywhere in the world.

This standard requires the industry to produce a cigarette which essentially self extinguishes and as such reduces the possibility for igniting upholstered furniture, thereby reducing the overall number of fires. To date, other states including California, Vermont, New Hampshire, Illinois, Massachusetts and Maryland, as well as the dominion of Canada have followed suit and adopted cigarette fire safety standards. In 2006, additional legislation was enacted amending GML 204d requiring fire chiefs and/or fire investigation units to report all fires suspected to have been caused by cigarettes to the Office of Fire Prevention & Control within fourteen days of completing their investigation. This legislation is intended to provide a process for the fire service to measure the effectiveness of the standard in reducing the number of cigarette caused fires and the resultant dollar loss and fire deaths.

As a means to assist the fire service in complying with the reporting requirements of GML 204d, the Office of Fire Prevention and Control has established a process for fire chiefs and their investigation units to report specific criteria which will aid in monitoring the effectiveness of this important fire safety program. A simple one page form titled “New York State Suspected Cigarette Caused Fire Incident Report” captures the necessary data from suspected cigarette caused fire incidents. In addition to the form, it is important to document the cigarette pack by photographing each side of the pack with “up-close” detailed photos depicting the Fire Standard Compliant markings and the NYS Tax Stamp. The report form may be obtained by contacting OFPC or via our website at www.dos.state.ny.us.

Investigation Protocol

Cigarette Fire Report