Michael Atherton raises great points about the dangers posed by inattentive smokers. I agree with him that it shouldn't be as simple as saying "I'm sorry." if a fire caused by smoking ends up killing someone.
Here's my question though: Given the prevalence of house fires caused by careless smokers (250,000 per year in this country), was the duplex fire near the U a few months ago the only one in Minneapolis in recent years? Or even the only rental property in Minneapolis? If not, how come we haven't seen any huge outcry for inspection sweeps for rental properties elsewhere in the city? How come it's only the students at the U that are getting jerked around by this? Mark Snyder Windom Park On 12/10/03 8:17 PM, "Michael Atherton" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > The difference between turkey fryers and cigarettes is > that most of us are aware that cigarettes and other > smoking materials cause burns and fires: > > "According to the National Fire Protection Association, > approximately 250,000 house fires per year are caused > by careless disposal of cigarettes or other smoking > materials. Nearly 2,000 people tragically and needlessly > lose their lives in these fires. > http://phoenix.gov/FIRE/smokers.html > > "Cigarette smoking is the single most likely cause of fatal > house fires..." > www.kidcheck.org/er/er3.html > > And if you didn't know, you do now. I don't think that > it's acceptable to say, "I'm sorry" when the "accident" > involves death of an innocent person (if only the smoker > dies that's an other story: they were taking an "acceptable" > risk to pursue their addiction). > > There is a certain lack of accountability in our society, > all the way from Enron to tailgating. How many fools are > there in Minneapolis that don't realize that riding someone's > bumper in a snow storm can result in serious injury? > > Michael Atherton > Prospect Park REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
