Paraffin in creams causing deaths by fire

Do we think that for normal usage this is a real risk or is there an awful lot of being economical with the facts behind it?

I saw this on the news this morning. They are not talking about cosmetic creams, but rather the treatment creams for skin conditions such as eczema & psoriasis, many of which are based on paraffin or coal tar. The problem is not the creams per se, but that residue builds up in the patient's bedding and nightclothes - especially with the current trend for laundering at low temperatures. The bedclothes and nightclothes then become a high risk for accidental ignition by a dropped cigarette, for example.
The figures were quite alarming, only 6 fire brigades out of 53 responded, but there were I think 37 deaths attributed to this scenario, and if those figures were replicated by the remaining 47 fire brigades, they would potentially be looking at hundreds of deaths. The advice is to a) avoid or be extremely vigilant when smoking, b) don't smoke in bed, and c) launder bedclothes and underwear/nightclothes at the highest temperature recommended on the label.

loveallthingsitalian said:

Do we think that for normal usage this is a real risk or is there an awful lot of being economical with the facts behind it?

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Most of the quoted sources are in the fire brigade, but it's wise to be wary of the papers reporting selectively or sensationally, or both.

If it were normal hand creams then hundreds of thousands round the world would be going up in flames.

A friend's husband is a fireman, he refuses to let any of the family use those plug in air fresher things, you know the ones looking like plugs. He insists they are the cause of more house fires today than anything else. The liquid stuff it seems it oil based. Yet nothing is ever mentioned about these in the papers.

donna255 said:

If it were normal hand creams then hundreds of thousands round the world would be going up in flames.

A friend's husband is a fireman, he refuses to let any of the family use those plug in air fresher things, you know the ones looking like plugs. He insists they are the cause of more house fires today than anything else. The liquid stuff it seems it oil based. Yet nothing is ever mentioned about these in the papers.

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I actually know of a case where this happened - luckily they were out if the house when it happened.

donna255 said:

If it were normal hand creams then hundreds of thousands round the world would be going up in flames.

A friend's husband is a fireman, he refuses to let any of the family use those plug in air fresher things, you know the ones looking like plugs. He insists they are the cause of more house fires today than anything else. The liquid stuff it seems it oil based. Yet nothing is ever mentioned about these in the papers.

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Yes, I very much like Yankee's Rosa as a guest, but I didn't think her suggesting that you could leave a plug in on at your caravan between visits was one of her better ideas!

Yes, plug ins were mentioned on fire training courses I have attended. Everyone seemed surprised by this, but all said they would bin their plug in when they got home later.

It was on FB about tea towels catching fire because of grease residue, not removed by lower temp washes

donna255 said:

If it were normal hand creams then hundreds of thousands round the world would be going up in flames.

A friend's husband is a fireman, he refuses to let any of the family use those plug in air fresher things, you know the ones looking like plugs. He insists they are the cause of more house fires today than anything else. The liquid stuff it seems it oil based. Yet nothing is ever mentioned about these in the papers.

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They've triggered an awful lot of chemical sensitivities, too.

loveallthingsitalian said:

I actually know of a case where this happened - luckily they were out if the house when it happened.

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Why were they lucky? If they were out then the house got badly damaged. If at home then the smoke alarm should have gone off and fire brigade called.
My friend badly damaged her house by leaving a candle burning on top of her tv. She was in so shut kitchen door and just the sitting room badly smoke damaged.