The Naperville Fire Department is urging residents to think carefully about what they use as ashtrays. Several fires each year are started when residents tried to extinguish their cigarettes in potted plants. The people involved probably just didn’t realize that most plant pots don’t contain only dirt, and that some of the materials in the potting mix can be easily ignited. Dried potting soil is made up of shredded wood, bark, peat moss and Styrofoam pellets combined with dead plant material, creating the “perfect storm” for a fire.
When you have all of that material in a pot that sat out all winter long and then someone decides it’s a great place to stick a cigarette butt, what occurs is a fire several hours later.
Another hot topic (no pun intended) in the past few years has been landscaping mulch. Warm weather brings out the landscapers, and with the landscapers comes decorative mulch. If you’re not careful with your mulch, it could also bring out a fire truck.
The Naperville Fire Department would like to remind everyone to use some caution and common sense when it comes to landscaping mulch. These fires are particularly dangerous due to their proximity to homes and structures. The fire starts in the landscaping mulch, spreads into the shrubbery and then to the home or building. Other factors such as below average rainfall, extremely dry conditions, warm temperatures and abnormal winds increase the risk of serious damage from mulch fires.
The risk of a mulch fire is more common than one might expect. This is a problem that we all share. The Smoke-free Illinois Act prohibits smoking in virtually all public places and workplaces. So what we see happening is that cigarette and cigar smokers often discard lit smoking materials into the landscaped areas as they enter a building.
Potting soil was created for flowers and plants. Ashtrays were created for a reason; please use them!
