Smoker, 61, is killed after cigarette blows up her oxygen tank in her North Carolina home

Smoker, 61, is killed after cigarette blows up her oxygen tank in her North Carolina home

  • Belinda Coble died in the explosion in Nash County at 8am on Tuesday morning 
  • Her husband had been asleep in another room when her heard the explosion 
  • Coble was being administered oxygen as she smoked which caused the blast 
  • She was declared dead at the scene after her husband called fire crews  

A smoker was killed after her cigarette blew up the oxygen tank she was hooked up to in her North Carolina home. 

Belinda Coble, 61, died in the explosion in Nash County shortly before 8am on Tuesday morning.  

Her husband had been asleep in another room when her heard the explosion and smelt the fire. He is said to have called 911 and was able to put out the flames. 

Coble was being administered oxygen as she smoked which caused the explosion. She was declared dead at the scene, CBS 17 reports. 

Belinda Coble died in the explosion in her Nash County home, pictured, at 8am on Tuesday morning. Her husband had been asleep in another room when her heard the explosion

The couple’s home suffered minimal damage, according to the authorities. 

Officials say people shouldn’t smoke while using oxygen tanks, because it increases the risk of fire.

A September study into the dangers found ‘media reports covering 311 separate fires involving home oxygen over a 20-month period resulting in 164 deaths, 71 serious injuries and 119 minor injuries. This amounts to more than one death every 4 days’. 

It adds: ‘The risks associated with home oxygen fires are not limited to the oxygen user. Third parties are also at significant risk with more than 1 in 4 incidents recorded involving evacuation by a third party, including members of the public, neighbors, family, firefighters and the police. 

’11 third parties are included in the 164 recorded deaths.

‘Of the 164 deaths the study identified, 149 were likely to have been related to oxygen in conjunction with smoking or another ignition source. ‘ 

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