Fire Suspected to Have Started Spontaneously from Sesame Oil Cake Under House Eaves... No Casualties

▲ The scene of the fire suspected to have spontaneously ignited from sesame oil cake under the eaves of a house

Amid continuing heatwaves, a fire suspected to have ignited spontaneously broke out in sesame oil cake placed under the eaves of a detached house in Busan.

According to the Busan Fire and Disaster Headquarters today (August 25), a fire broke out at a one-story detached house in Jangan-eup, Gijang-gun, Busan, at 6:17 PM on August 24, and 119 firefighters dispatched upon receiving a report extinguished it in about 20 minutes.

The homeowner was out at the time, and a neighboring resident spotted the smoke and flames and reported it to 119.

While there were no casualties, the interior of the main bedroom of the detached house was burned, causing property damage estimated by the fire department at around 2 million won.

Based on the pattern of combustion progressing from the outside to the inside of the house and the severe burn marks on the sesame oil cake located under the eaves, fire authorities estimate that the fire started from the sesame oil cake.

A fire official explained, "It appears that oxidation heat accumulated in the sesame oil cake in weather with high temperatures and humidity, causing the temperature to rise continuously and leading to spontaneous combustion."

(Photo provided by Busan Fire and Disaster Headquarters, Yonhap News)

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