The McLean County Coroner's office is citing two recent deaths in warning residents about the dangers of smoking and using oxygen tanks simultaneously.
Officials said in a Thursday news release that two county residents died this month in less than a 10-day span from thermal burns as a result of smoking while on home oxygen. Both residents, a 75-year-old man and a 58-year-old woman, suffered injuries to their faces from fires which started after they lit cigarettes.
Coroner Beth Kimmerling noted that smoking in "oxygen rich" environments is a safety hazard not only to smokers but to those living with them.