'Portable Butane Gas Explosions' Lurking at Campsites... Doubled Recently in Gyeongbuk Province

3 to 5 Cases Annually from 2016 to 2019 → Already 10 Cases Since 2020
17 Casualties in the Past 5 Years... "Higher Risk Than Ordinary Fires"

The scene of a campsite fire caused by portable butane gas.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Dong-wook] Recently, there have been consecutive incidents of explosions caused by placing portable butane gas canisters near fire at camping sites in Gyeongsangbuk-do.

According to statistics released on the 18th by the Gyeongbuk Fire Headquarters, there have been 25 fires caused by the use of portable butane gas in the Gyeongbuk area over the past five years. These incidents resulted in 17 casualties and approximately 120 million KRW in property damage.

Fires, which occurred 3 to 5 times annually from 2016 to 2019, sharply increased to 8 cases in 2020, and already 2 cases have occurred in January of this year alone.

The causes of the fires are gas leaks from portable butane gas canisters at 44% (11 cases), careless use at 36% (9 cases), and arson at 16% (4 cases). Careless fires were caused by food cooking (4 cases), careless use of devices (3 cases), and explosions from residual gas in canisters (2 cases).

By location, fires occurred in houses at 44% (11 cases), vehicles at 20% (5 cases), and restaurants and lodging facilities at 16% (4 cases). Notably, 9 casualties occurred in the 11 fires at houses, due to instantaneous gas explosions accompanying the fire outbreaks.

With the influence of COVID-19, more people have been enjoying camping outdoors, and fires at camping sites or camping vehicles, which averaged only 3 cases from 2016 to 2019, increased to 6 cases in 2020.

Among these, 3 fires were caused by portable butane gas, which occurred when the butane gas canisters were placed close to fire to warm them up after the butane gas flame weakened.

Kim Jong-geun, head of the Gyeongbuk Fire Headquarters, urged caution, stating, "Compared to general fires, fires involving portable butane gas have a casualty rate of 68%, which is 10 times higher. Although the number of incidents is small, the risk is extremely high."