[Anchor]
There are places where people struggle to use air conditioning freely, even during intense heat waves. These are residential vinyl greenhouses. Indoor temperatures often soar well above 40°C (104°F), but because these structures are highly susceptible to fire and can be consumed rapidly once ignited, residents face a dangerous dilemma.
Reporter Kim Gyu-ri has the story.
[Reporter]
This is Kkulbeol Village in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, where approximately 300 households reside in vinyl greenhouses.
On a thermal imaging camera, the ceilings of the greenhouses appear bright red.
Due to the nature of these structures, they lack proper insulation and cooling, leaving residents fully exposed to the sweltering heat of summer.
The temperature on the ceiling has exceeded 50°C (122°F).
The homes built inside these greenhouses fail to block the heat, making the interiors as hot as a sauna.
[Bang Seon-sim / Resident of Kkulbeol Village for 20 years: I cannot cook inside at all because it is too hot. I have to cook outside and bring the food in. (Is it hotter inside?) It is much hotter.]
[Resident: It is so hot that the lettuce inside the house is wilting away.]
Nine households are packed into this single greenhouse structure.
If a fire were to break out, it could lead to catastrophic damage.
Because these greenhouses are made of flammable materials, they are particularly vulnerable to fire.
In fact, a fire caused by electrical issues last year destroyed over 20 greenhouse units in this village.
Fearing another fire, residents are terrified to turn on their air conditioners.
[Jo Do-won / Head of Kkulbeol Village Residents' Association: Since electrical wires are laid under the greenhouse, they can melt or become brittle over time.]
[Gong Ha-seong / Professor of Fire and Disaster Prevention at Woosuk University: If they even turn on air conditioners, it can easily lead to short circuits or electrical leakage. There is also a risk of electrical leakage when it rains.]
Due to the high fire risk, the city of Gwacheon has installed thermal imaging CCTV cameras in the village to enable an immediate response to potential fires.
Over the past year, 152 fires have occurred in residential vinyl greenhouses across the country, resulting in 4 deaths and 9 injuries.
As the climate crisis makes heat waves more severe each year, residents of these vinyl greenhouses find it difficult to even find a way to escape the heat due to the constant fear of fire.
Reported by Kim Gyu-ri | Video by Kim Seung-tae and Ha Ryung | Video Editing by Lee Sang-min | Graphics by Kim Ye-ji
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