Smoking a cigarette with while on oxygen cylinder support could be the worst and the dumbest thing to do, but there are still people who go beyond limits to do crazy things. A 61-year-old woman from the US was least bothered about the dire consequences. The woman as Belinda Coble was using the oxygen tank and it was when she smoked a cigarette and there was a sudden blase inside her house which killed her on the spot.
Smoking with an oxygen therapy equipment is indeed a disaster waiting to happen because if a spark touches the fuel source, it will ignite and spread extremely fast.
Belinda Coble’s husband, who was sleeping in the room next to her’s heard the explosion and rushed over to see what happened but he saw her lying dead in the chair.
He is known to have called 911 and was also able to put out the flames by himself. As per Mail Online, the couple’s home suffered minimal damage and officials say people shouldn’t smoke while using oxygen tanks as it increases the risk of fire.
A recent study released by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) in the US, mentions that people die every four days in fires involving home oxygen in the US.
The research also claims that between December 2017 and August 2019, around 311 incidents of home oxygen fires were recorded, leading to 164 deaths.
It adds: ‘The risks associated with home oxygen fires are not limited to the oxygen user. Third parties are also at significant risk with more than 1 in 4 incidents recorded involving evacuation by a third party, including members of the public, neighbours, family, firefighters and the police’.