From tonight's Gazette:
Assistant Fire Marshall Bill Tatum said the fire was accidental and started when "unattended smoking materials" - most likely a cigarette - were left in a wooden planter on the porch.

The home's interior suffered heavy damage from smoke and flames. Tatum said the home is a total loss and estimated the damage at $13,000.

The home is not insured.

I am usually very compassionate about people losing their home to a fire. But when I read that someone tossed a burning cigarette into a wooden planter on the porch and the whole house burned as a result I just get angry.

Add to that the fact that they had money to buy cigarettes, but not insurance.

Add to that the trauma those poor kids went through watching their home and everything they had burn!

How do we know it was a family member who did this? And for me, in the end, what causes things like not having insurance and having a need to poison oneself with cigarettes is pretty complex.

It's not complex when you put your children first. Anyone can quit smoking if they want. There are plenty of things to help achieve that goal. As for why someone doesn't have insurance, I understand when people don't have money. But...if there is money for cigarettes then there should be money for insurance.

Kacey, you are right, ANYONE can quit smoking when they want. It's one of the hardest addictions to quit. I'm sure when they put that cigarette out, they didn't intend to burn their house down. Cigarettes are made with safety burn out technology now (at least marbs and camels, and a few other brands.) It wasn't intentional, and that would be like if a fire started because someone was lighting a candle, and didn't put it out. I think they could be compared.

Sounds like some folks from the shallow end of the gene pool. If you spent the money on insurance instead of smokes, you wouldn't be in this mess. So, yeah, no sympathy for the idiot who put out his cigarette in the planter and burned the house down but sorry for the folks who suffered for his stupidity.

You give liberals a bad name. You want to dictate the lives of others, it's that simple.

My two thoughts on this story are
1 It is a shame that a family has to live in a structure that 13,000 damage is a complete loss.

2 Don't forget to direct some of the anti smoking hate towards the drug cartels (corporations) that make it possible.

My dad used to park his stogie on the edge of the porch railing before coming into the house. I miss it.

It wasn't intentional, and that would be like if a fire started because someone was lighting a candle, and didn't put it out. I think they could be compared.

Yeah, but it's not socially acceptable to hate candle users. If a candle user who doesn't smoke had their house burn down it would be a tragedy. The smokers are just getting what they deserve (like fat people and other subhumans).

[This message has been edited by Levi Forman (9/11/2010)]

Subhumans... I'm fat, ugly, and I smoke (its really hard to find three days to be left alone to have my freakouts). I think I am a sub subhuman, if that is possible lol.

It could have been a visitor that left one burning there...didn't have to be the family...maybe a boyfriend of one of the kids if they are teenagers or a family friend that was sitting on the porch enjoying a nice break...can't condemn the family with so little information IMO..also some of the older trailers would be hard to insure as insurance companies are very picky about the structures they will insure.