Burnin’ Down The House By Rich Peirce Earlier this year, a young
man sat on his front porch enjoying a cigarette before going to
bed for the night. As part of his nightly ritual, he flicked his
cigarette butt away after inhaling his last drag. The next thing
the young man remembers was being awakened by his father, a
local police captain, and carried to safety outside. The father
re-entered the house to save his 2 daughters and wife. The
coroner said all 4 died from breathing smoke and carbon
monoxide. Located in Hawaii, on the island of Maui, lies the
Kula Forest Reserve. At an elevation of 6,200 feet and situated
in a fog belt, this forest’s natural beauty has led many to
describe it as a magical, misty forest. In 2007, a fire raged
for 7 days and destroyed close to 2,300 acres of land. The fire
was traced to a cigarette butt, which had been improperly
disposed. According to the National Fire Protection Agency,
upwards of 90,000 fires in the United States alone are caused by
cigarettes. Because of these fir