Gyeonggi Fire Department Reports 3-Fold Increase in 'Electric Heating Wire' Fires in December... 34 Cases Over 10 Years

Electric Heating Wire Fire

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] The Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters has urged caution against fires caused by electric heating cables used to prevent pipe freezing ahead of winter. Electric heating cables are widely used in homes and businesses to prevent water pipes from freezing during the cold winter months.

According to the Gyeonggi Fire Headquarters on the 28th, over the past 10 years, an average of 862 fires occurred in December in Gyeonggi-do, which is 8.6% higher than the annual monthly average of 794 fires. By cause of fire, seasonal ignition devices such as boilers and heaters accounted for 121 fires, more than twice the monthly average of 59. In particular, fires caused by electric heating cables numbered 34, more than three times the monthly average of 11. Fires related to electrical equipment also averaged 105, exceeding the monthly average of 89.

Accordingly, the Gyeonggi Fire Headquarters requested that when using electric heating cables, users should check whether the product has safety certification and use products equipped with overheating cut-off devices or temperature control sensors.

They also emphasized the importance of adhering to the recommended usage period (7 to 10 years) and strictly following installation methods, such as avoiding X-shaped crossing and installing cables too closely together.

According to a comprehensive inspection by the Electrical Safety Research Institute, more than half of the electric heating cable products sold on the market either lack KS certification or are over 10 years old. Non-certified products are sold at about one-fifth the price of certified products.

Since August, the Gyeonggi Fire Headquarters has been issuing monthly fire safety advisories based on big data of fire occurrence types over the past 10 years, similar to weather forecasts.

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