Consumer Agency Warns "Be Careful of Fire and Burns When Using Heaters in Winter"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] A man in his 20s, Mr. A, set his hot water mat to 40 degrees Celsius and fell asleep, resulting in a third-degree burn on his arm. This is a so-called "low-temperature burn" that occurs even at low temperatures.

The Korea Consumer Agency and the Fair Trade Commission announced on the 27th that they have issued a safety advisory to prevent safety accidents related to electric heating devices during winter, as the use of electric blankets, electric heaters, and other heating devices has increased due to the colder weather.

According to the Consumer Agency, there were 3,244 reports of hazards related to heating devices over the past four years, with 1,335 cases occurring during the winter season, the highest number. Analyzing hazard reports by heating device, electric blankets accounted for the most cases with 1,722 reports, followed by hot water mats and electric heaters (stoves).

Among the hazard reports related to heating devices, 47.9% (1,553 cases) were confirmed to have occurred during product use, such as fires, overheating, and explosions. The main causes of hazards were fires caused by the product (809 cases), burns due to the high temperature of the heating device (407 cases), and product overheating (248 cases). Safety accidents caused by heating devices were most frequently burns, with 514 cases, of which 56.2% (289 cases) were due to electric blankets.

The Consumer Agency and the Fair Trade Commission urged users to prevent safety accidents related to heating devices by ▲ turning off the power when going out ▲ not using the devices for extended periods ▲ unplugging the devices when not in use.

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