That's according to the London Fire Department, which began tracking fires related to contraband cigarettes this year. So far, 2018 has seen:17 firesTwo serious injuries$1.6 million in damagesAll of which were related to contraband cigarettes. During his time as a fire investigator, Burt said he noticed a number of fire deaths where contraband cigarettes were present at the scene. In 2017, cigarettes caused:23 firesOne death8 injuries$790, 450 in damages"At the time, we didn't track the difference between contraband cigarettes and conventional cigarettes," said Burt. "I would highly suspect that a large majority of those fires, if not all, were a direct result of contraband cigarettes."

Source: CBC News August 01, 2018 08:00 UTC