Cigarettes main cause of fires in İstanbul, official figures say

The official figures of the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality Fire Department say some 12,500 of the total number of fires that occurred in İstanbul in the first 11 months of 2011 were caused by cigarettes.
According to the figures, firefighters intervened in 24,691 fires in İstanbul. Among the causes of these fires, cigarettes come first, followed by short circuits with 4,298 incidents. Children playing with fire is listed as the third most frequent cause of fires, followed by the improper use of electrical equipment such as electric stoves and an iron. The number of fires that was caused by children playing with fire stood at 1,487 while the number for incidents caused by the improper use of electrical equipment was 1,037.

The other causes for fires include -- but are not limited to -- the improper use of candles, and gas explosions.

The official data say most fire incidents took place in the months of July, August and September.

The most fires occurred in İstanbul's Pendik district, with 1,320 recorded incidents.

Fires most commonly took place between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., mostly during weekends and public holidays. The number of false reports came in at 3,364.