153 People Injured by Cigarette Butts This Year
Property Damage Also Reaches 4.45 Million Won Per Case, Totaling 25.6 Billion Won
At the site of an apartment fire in Banghak-dong, Dobong-gu, Seoul, which injured dozens of people, cigarette butts and lighters were found, and it has been revealed that there have been over 5,000 fire incidents caused by cigarette butts this year alone. It was the most common cause of fires due to negligence.
On the 27th, the Fire Agency announced that from January 1 to the 26th of this month, a total of 5,748 fire incidents caused by cigarette butts were recorded. The casualties caused by cigarette butts so far total 153 people, including 17 deaths and 136 injuries. Property damage averaged 4.45 million KRW per case, amounting to a total of 25.59 billion KRW including movable and immovable property.
At around 1 p.m. on the 27th, a fire broke out and thick black smoke was seen coming from the 16th floor of a 20-story apartment building in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do. [Photo by Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters] [Image source=Yonhap News]
When examining the causes of ignition, the number of fires caused by 'negligence' reached a total of 17,903 cases so far this year. Among these, fires caused by cigarette butts accounted for the largest share at 32.1%. This was followed by 2,483 cases (13.9%) during food cooking, 2,323 cases (13.0%) due to unattended embers, flames, or fire sources, 1,990 cases (11.1%) from garbage burning, 1,664 cases (9.3%) from careless use or installation of equipment, and 1,055 cases (5.9%) from other causes.
Among the ignition causes, besides 'negligence' which includes cigarette butts, there were also 'electrical causes (10,144 cases)' such as short circuits, 'mechanical causes (3,824 cases)', 'unknown causes (3,462 cases)', 'chemical causes (729 cases)', 'traffic accidents (420 cases)', 'suspected arson (330 cases)', and 'arson (305 cases)'. After negligence, fires caused by electrical factors were the second most frequent.
Increase in Indoor Smoking Due to Cold Weather Leads to More Fire Accidents
On the 27th, the National Fire Agency announced that from January 1 to the 26th of this month, a total of 5,748 fires caused by cigarette butts were recorded. The number of casualties due to cigarette butt-related fires reached a total of 153 people, including 17 deaths and 136 injuries. Property damage amounted to an average of 4.45 million KRW per incident, totaling 25.59 billion KRW, including movable and immovable property. [Photo by Pixabay]
Recently, with cold weather causing more frequent indoor smoking, fire accidents caused by cigarette butts in apartments and other places have been continuous. According to Fire Agency statistics, 281 fire incidents caused by cigarette butts occurred nationwide just this month. Last month, a fire broke out in an apartment in Cheongju, Chungbuk, forcing about 20 residents to evacuate; it was reported that the homeowner had testified to smoking on the veranda before leaving for work. Also, in October, a fire suspected to have been caused by cigarette butts occurred at a high school waste sorting site in Goyang, Gyeonggi, causing an emergency evacuation of about 500 people.
If a fire accident occurs due to failure to properly extinguish a cigarette, a fine of up to 15 million KRW can be imposed for simple negligence. If the fire was foreseeable but was not prevented due to negligence, it may result in imprisonment for up to three years. In fact, in 2017, the Seoul Western District Court sentenced a smoker to two years in prison for serious negligence after he smoked at his home in Yongsan-gu, discarded the cigarette butt indoors, which caused a fire that injured neighbors, stating that "serious negligence caused injuries to the victims."
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