Jeonnam Fire Department Urges Caution to Prevent Agricultural Machinery Fires During Harvest Season

207 Agricultural Machinery Fires in the Last 5 Years... 36.7% Occurred from September to November

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Jeonnam Fire Headquarters (Chief Ma Jaeyoon) has urged special caution to prevent damage caused by agricultural machinery fires during the full-scale harvest season.

According to Jeonnam Fire on the 16th, there have been a total of 207 agricultural machinery fires in the province over the past five years, resulting in property damage worth 1.7 billion KRW.

In particular, during the autumn harvest season from September to November, 76 fires (36.7%) occurred, causing property damage worth 740 million KRW, making extra caution necessary during this period.

The causes of fires were mostly mechanical factors such as heat and overload with 108 cases (52.1%), followed by electrical factors such as poor contact and insulation hardening with 64 cases (30.9%), and carelessness such as cigarette butts with 35 cases (16.9%).

During the harvest season, mechanical causes were also the most frequent with 44 cases (57.8%), followed by electrical causes with 17 cases (22.3%), and carelessness with 15 cases (19.7%).

For combines, friction and overload of belts, fuel leaks from the engine area, short circuits in electrical wiring, and sparks from exposed wires often lead to fires, so thorough maintenance is necessary.

In the case of rice dryers, dust around the blower motor in the drying warehouse should be cleaned regularly, and old wiring should be organized.

Ma Jaeyoon, Chief of Jeonnam Fire Headquarters, said, “To prevent damage from agricultural machinery fires in autumn, please conduct thorough basic inspections before and after using agricultural machinery such as rice dryers and combines.”

Meanwhile, on the 2nd in Haenam, a fire broke out in the engine area at the rear of a combine harvesting rice, resulting in the loss of the engine part. As of last month, there have been 29 agricultural equipment fires in the Jeonnam region this year.

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