Seoul Fire Department Reports Highest Number of Cooking Fires in September... "Special Caution Needed During Chuseok Holiday"

Statistical Analysis Over the Past 5 Years... 2,223 Fires in September, 17 Deaths Reported
628 Fires Caused by Food Cooking... Detached House Fires Also Second Highest Year-Round

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters has urged caution in fire prevention and daily safety management during September, based on an analysis of fire, disaster, and safety accident statistics over the past five years (2017?2021).

According to the Fire and Disaster Headquarters on the 7th, there were 2,223 fires in September over the past five years (an average of 444.6 per year), accounting for 7.9% of the total fires (28,266) during the period. There were 121 casualties, including 17 deaths.

By cause, fires due to negligence were the most frequent at 1,336 cases. Notably, in the three years during the past five years when Chuseok fell in September, fires occurring during 'food cooking' totaled 628 cases (11.3%), the highest number throughout the year.

By location, fires in residential facilities were the most common at 1,019 cases, followed by fires in lifestyle service facilities and sales/office facilities. In particular, among residential facilities, fires in detached houses numbered 427, the highest since January.

The Fire and Disaster Headquarters is supporting the free installation of residential fire alarms in homes without fire safety equipment, targeting households with residents aged 65 or older, to prevent residential fires and ensure a safe Chuseok holiday. Applications for installation are accepted on the Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters website.

Meanwhile, from 2017 to 2021, there were a total of 74,058 safety accident dispatches following 119 emergency calls in September. Especially, September, as the heat gradually subsides and becomes a good time for hiking and outings, recorded 834 mountain safety accidents, the second highest number of the year following October.

Jung Sun-woong, Head of the Field Response Team at the Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters, said, “September, marking the start of autumn, sees an increase in various safety accidents before and after the Chuseok holiday,” and added, “We ask citizens to pay attention to fire and safety accidents for the safety of their families and neighbors.”

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