Living in 'Sauna-Like' Heat: A Look Inside Vulnerable Vinyl Greenhouse Homes

[Anchor]

There are places where people live, but where using air conditioning during a heatwave is a luxury they cannot afford. These are residential vinyl greenhouses. With indoor temperatures soaring well over 40°C (104°F), these structures are extremely vulnerable to fire, which can spread uncontrollably once ignited.

Reporter Kim Gyu-ri has the story.

[Reporter]

This is Ggulbeol Village in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, where about 300 households live in vinyl greenhouses.

On a thermal imaging camera, the ceilings of the greenhouses appear deep red.

Due to the nature of these structures, they lack proper insulation and cooling, leaving residents fully exposed to the sweltering summer heat.

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 Ggulbeol 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.]

In this single greenhouse structure, nine households are living together.

If a fire were to break out, it could lead to significant damage.

Because these greenhouses are made of flammable materials, they are particularly susceptible to fire.

In fact, a fire caused by electrical issues broke out in this village last year, destroying over 20 greenhouse units.

Fearing another fire, residents are afraid to turn on their air conditioners.

[Jo Do-won / Head of Ggulbeol Village Residents' Association: Since the electrical wires are laid under the greenhouse, they can melt or become worn out 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 immediate response to fires.

Over the past year, there have been 152 fires in residential vinyl greenhouses across the country, resulting in 4 deaths and 9 injuries.

While the climate crisis is making heatwaves more severe every year, residents in these vinyl greenhouse homes struggle to find even the most basic ways to escape the heat due to the constant fear of fire.

(Video reporting: Kim Seung-tae, Ha Ryung | Video editing: Lee Sang-min | Design: Kim Ye-ji)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.