Interior ministry warns on boiler checks as heating season raises fire risk

South Korea's interior ministry on Friday urged households to inspect their boilers before switching them on for winter, warning that heating equipment accounts for a sharp share of home fires and carbon monoxide poisonings as temperatures fall.

Roughly 82 percent of Korean households, or 17.12 million, use individual boilers running on city gas, oil or electricity, according to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. Home boiler fires over the five years from 2021 through 2025 totaled 790 and left 31 people dead or injured. Such fires cluster between November and January: November, when boilers are typically restarted, saw 87 cases, 1.3 times the monthly average of 66.

Electrical faults including poor contacts were the single largest cause over the same period, accounting for 351 cases, or 44 percent. Mechanical problems such as overheating and aged equipment followed with 290 cases, or 37 percent. Careless use or installation caused 75 cases, or 9 percent, and gas leaks 14 cases, or 2 percent.

Before starting a boiler, the ministry advised clearing paper and other flammable material from around the unit and checking that the exhaust duct is neither blocked nor detached and that pipes are not corroded or dented. Boiler-room vents should stay open so that harmful gases can escape, and carbon monoxide alarms should be installed indoors. Smoke, sparks or hot air from the unit, a blinking or dead indicator light, or unfamiliar noise, vibration or smell should prompt a call to a technician.

The warning extends to camping, where demand persists into the cold months. Campsite stays ran at 152,000 nights in November and 95,000 in December, and the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning rises when heating devices are used inside tents. The ministry advised against using charcoal or other heaters that generate large amounts of carbon monoxide in tents, and recommended sleeping bags or hot water bottles to keep warm instead. Where a heater is unavoidable, tents should be ventilated frequently and a portable carbon monoxide alarm installed. Headache, dizziness, vomiting or a sudden loss of strength should be treated as possible poisoning: the person should move outdoors into fresh air immediately and seek medical care.

"Before running a boiler, check thoroughly for problems such as overheating or noise, and take special care to ventilate when using heating devices in enclosed spaces, so that you have a warm and safe winter," said Lee Chi-sun, head of the ministry's preventive safety policy division.