Can “Fire Safe” Cigarettes (FSCs) Start Wildfires?

Abstract

Over the last 20 years, all states within the US have required all cigarettes sold to be “fire safe” or “fire standards compliant” meaning that they must pass ASTM standard E2187. Though these cigarettes are designed to self-extinguish, there have been recent studies suggesting that these “fire safe” cigarettes (FSCs) can still ignite mattresses and other furnishings, but there has been no guidance for fire investigators whether FSCs can ignite natural fuels, such as duff and needles, that can be the source of a wildland fire. This work sets out to investigate whether FSCs can indeed be the ignition source of wildland fuels. Experiments were conducted by placing “fire safe” cigarettes burned a fixed length (1 cm) onto fuel beds of two surrogate fuel types placed at the outlet of a wind tunnel and under a halogen lamp to mimic a sunny day. The fuel beds consisted of either a bed of partially chopped pine needles or a layer of whole needles on top of a layer of peat. Five replicates with three wind speeds were tested. Mass loss rates of the fuel beds were recorded, and the experiments documented using both a visual and infrared camera. In nearly every case, smoldering ignition was seen that sustained propagation and spread well away from the cigarette, even when the cigarette appeared to self-extinguish. These results clearly indicate that “fire safe” cigarettes can indeed still start wildland fires, particularly in dry and windy conditions.