Changwon Fire Headquarters Warns That Garbage Incineration Can Cause Wildfires... Cautions Public

261 Fires Caused by Negligence Last Year

29 Cases Involved Garbage Incineration

The Changwon Fire Headquarters in Gyeongnam has issued a warning as the risk of forest fires increases due to springtime garbage burning amid continued dry weather.

According to the Changwon Fire Headquarters, there were 603 fire incidents last year, with negligence accounting for the highest cause at 261 cases (43.2%). Among these, garbage burning accounted for 29 cases (11.1%), ranking just after cigarette butts and unattended fire sources in negligence-related incidents.

Garbage incineration site. [Image provided by Changwon Fire Headquarters]

As simultaneous forest fires have occurred nationwide, the Fire Headquarters urged caution to reduce fire incidents caused by negligence such as garbage burning.

This year, 64 fire incidents caused by negligence have occurred, with 12 cases (18.7%) related to garbage burning requiring fire department dispatch.

Burning garbage near forest-adjacent areas can escalate into large-scale forest fires, so special caution is necessary.

According to the Fire Services Act, anyone who starts a fire such as crop burning causing fire trucks to be dispatched may be fined up to 200,000 KRW. Additionally, the Forest Protection Act stipulates that if a forest is accidentally burned causing public danger, the offender may face imprisonment of up to 3 years or a fine of up to 30 million KRW.

The Fire Headquarters requested that agricultural waste such as plastic should not be burned individually, and if unavoidable, villages should collectively collect the waste and use private incineration facilities for disposal to prevent forest and wildland fires.

Kim Yong-jin, head of the Fire Headquarters, stated, “A small spark can lead to a large fire,” and added, “Active participation from citizens, such as refraining from garbage burning, can prevent fires.”

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