CHAMBERS COUNTY, Texas — A TV reporter was left red-faced after being caught on air smoking a cigarette — while covering the scene of an oil tank fire.
Brad Woodard was puffing away when anchors at Texas station KHOI cut to the scene of the incident for a report earlier than he expected.
When realizing he was live, he quickly flicked the cigarette to the ground. It wasn’t just the close proximity of the oil tank fire that irked some viewers who contacted the station — they also pointed out the dangers of discarding cigarettes during an extreme drought.
Woodward quickly apologized on KHOU’s Facebook page, saying, “My bad habit aside, I’m very cognizant of the extreme drought conditions facing this state. I report on those conditions daily and care very deeply about those affected. That said, I sincerely apologize to those of you who were offended.”
He added that he was standing on concrete when he discarded the cigarette, and also made sure it was extinguished following his brief report.