Opa-Locka Man Falls Asleep With Cigarette In Mouth, Suffers Severe Burns

An Opa-Locka man was hospitalized after he fell asleep with a cigarette in his mouth Sunday (October 11), NBC Miami reported. The incident happened around noon near at a home near Northwest 152nd Terrace.

A neighbor said the man fell asleep, and the cigarette fell out of his mouth and on his shirt. The shirt then caught fire and started burning him, he added.

"I say, wait, wait wait... And he sit down, and I put water on him — all of him,” the neighbor said, adding that there was "a lot of fire."

Miami-Dade first responders arrived at the scene, and the man was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital's burn unit. Officials say he remains in serious condition.

The man's identity hasn't been released. There's no word on if the home where it happened was damaged by the flames.

The National Park Service said smokers should put out cigarettes all the way, every time, when they're done. Officials recommend discarding cigarettes in deep, sturdy ashtrays with wide bases; these trays are difficult to tip over and should be unmeltable.

"Fire-safe cigarettes are less likely to cause a fire. These cigarettes have banded paper that can slow the burn of a cigarette that isn't being used," according to NPS.

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