House fires are common casualties that can happen to anyone. But can you believe that cats can be the culprits of house fires? Not just one but hundreds of them. According to CNN, fire officials in South Korea have advised pet owners to be cautious after more than 100 accidental house fires were triggered by cats in the previous three years. Cats have resulted in causing 107 house fires between January 2019 and November 2021, according to a statement released on Thursday by the Seoul Metropolitan Fire and Disaster Department.
According to the statement, four people were wounded in the fires. It went on to say that the majority of the incidents happened while the pet owners were away. According to the fire department, many of the fires were commenced by cats accidentally turning on electric stoves and jumping on touch-sensitive buttons. To prevent cats from evolving pyromaniacs, the bureau instructed pet owners to use the automatic lock function on their stoves to prevent cats from turning on the appliances accidentally.
CNN reported that pet owners should remove volatile objects, such as paper towels, from nearby stoves to avoid a disaster. “Cat-related fires are continuing to occur recently,” said Chung Gyo-chul, an official from the department. “We advise households with pets to pay extra attention as fire could spread widely when no one is at home.” Pets are also causing property values to skyrocket in the United States. According to National Fire Protection Association statistics, they are responsible for over 1,000 house fires each year. A viral YouTube video from 2015 depicted a dog in Connecticut reaching for a pizza box on top of a stove. The dog’s paw turned on the gas ignition knobs, nearly causing the house to burn down.