"February Electric Heating Cables and Traditional Market Fire Warnings... Highest Annual Count"

79 Electric Heating Wire Fires in February, 19 Traditional Market Fires Highest of the Year
Traffic Accidents and Electrical Safety Incident Responses Also Second Highest After January

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Based on an analysis of fires, disasters, and safety accidents that occurred over the past five years, the Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters urged compliance with fire prevention and safety rules in February.

According to the Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters on the 10th, there were 2,376 fires in February during the statistical analysis period, accounting for about 8% of all fires. Casualties were recorded at 114 people, including 16 deaths.

By cause of fire, careless fires, including 485 cases of discarded cigarette butts, were the most frequent with 1,337 cases. Fires caused by leaving ignition sources such as embers or flames unattended were also the second most frequent throughout the year, with 154 cases. According to detailed statistics from the Fire and Disaster Headquarters, among fires caused by seasonal appliances, 79 cases were related to electric heating wires, the highest number throughout the year. A representative case where overheating of electric heating wires was identified as the cause of fire was the building fire at Ilsan Women’s Hospital in December 2019, which led to the evacuation of 357 people, including 170 mothers and newborns, and burned 15 vehicles.

By location, fires in residential facilities were the most frequent with 946 cases, followed by fires in lifestyle service facilities and sales/business facilities. In particular, among sales/business facilities, traditional market fires numbered 19 cases, the highest in February throughout the year.

Meanwhile, from 2016 to 2020, there were a total of 54,945 119 emergency dispatches related to safety accidents in February. Among these, traffic accidents accounted for 2,771 cases, and electrical safety accident dispatches were 263 cases, making it the second highest after January throughout the year.

Jung Gyo-cheol, head of the Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters’ field response team, said, “As the statistics show, February remains a period with a high risk of large-scale fires such as those in traditional markets,” and added, “We ask for citizens’ special attention and caution regarding fire safety.”

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