Jeonbuk Province Urges Full-Scale Prevention of Livestock Barn Fires Amid Intense Heat

Increase in Fires at Livestock Farms Due to Surge in Electricity Usage Amid Heatwave

Poultry Farm Fire. Photo by Jeonbuk Fire Headquarters Provided

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hong Jae-hee] Jeonbuk Province has urged the prevention of barn fires caused by the operation of cooling devices as the intense heat begins in earnest after the rainy season.

According to Jeonbuk Province on the 3rd, the main cause of fires in livestock barns is electrical causes due to a sudden increase in electricity usage from cooling devices, fans, and other equipment.

According to the Fire Department's barn fire occurrence status, there were 48 cases in 2015, 48 cases in 2016, 56 cases in 2017, 68 cases in 2018, and 63 cases in 2019, totaling 283 fires.

The causes of fires were electrical (short circuit, overload, etc.) 128 cases, negligence (cigarette butts, garbage, etc.) 72 cases, mechanical (overheating, overload, etc.) 926 cases, chemical 1 case, natural 2 cases, unknown 51 cases, and others 3 cases, with electrical fires accounting for 45.2%.

Accordingly, Jeonbuk Province has urged livestock farmers to conduct thorough pre-inspections to proactively prevent fires caused by the sudden increase in electricity usage.

The main inspection items for preventing barn fires include ▲removing dust and foreign substances accumulated on outlets, distribution boards, and fan motors ▲checking for damaged wires ▲avoiding the use of octopus-style outlets that cause electrical overload ▲checking for loosely connected plugs ▲placing fire extinguishers and familiarizing oneself with their usage to respond quickly in case of fire.

Since 2017, Jeonbuk Province has been investing 400 million won annually to promote the barn fire safety system support project to prevent barn fires.

Next year, they plan to additionally implement a system that detects abnormalities in electrical facilities inside barns and notifies farm owners in advance, as well as support for distribution board fire extinguishers.

A Jeonbuk Province official said, “Regular inspections of electrical facilities are necessary to prevent barn fires,” and added, “We hope livestock farmers make electrical facility inspections a routine practice using fire inspection checklists.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.