Cats held responsible for more than 100 house fires in South Korea

What happened: The Seoul Metropolitan Fire and Disaster Department on December 30 disclosed that cats were responsible for more than 100 house fires in South Korea over the span of three years. Whereas, NY Post’s report claimed that pets are responsible for nearly 1000 house fires in the US every year. However, the SMF reported 107 house fire incidents from January 2018 to November 2021 and residential cats were responsible for the fires. Details: The South Korean fire department believes that the cats caused the house fires as they switched on electric burners and left them on for too long. Nearly 50 house fires in South Korea were reported by homeowners when they were not at home and the pet cats turned on the electric ovens. Seoul Metropolitan department’s statement read,  “Cat-related fires are continuing to occur recently. We advise households with pets to pay extra attention as fire could spread widely when no one is at home.” More: The department also advised the residents of South Korea to put covers on their electric stoves when they leave the house. Adding to their statement,  “By preventing your pet from interacting with a stove, you can take a big step toward preventing fires.”