Cats - keep them off the stove, officials warn. The pets started over 100 house fires in South Korea

A South Korean fire department said last week that 107 house fires have been started by cats in the past three years, cautioning pet owners and residents in the region of unexpected disasters at the hands of their felines. 

A statement released Thursday by the Seoul Metropolitan Fire and Disaster Department noted the staggering number of house fires caused by cats – between January 2019 and November of this year – came as a result of cats accidentally switching on electric stoves by jumping on sensitive buttons of appliances. 

According to the South Korean fire department, four of the people in the fires were injured and more than half came when pet owners were not actually in the home. Precautionary measures to be put in place may include putting covers over appliances and even removing knobs of stoves. 

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"Cat-related fires are continuing to occur recently," Chung Gyo-chul, a fire department offsaid in a statement. "We advise households with pets to pay extra attention as fire could spread widely when no one is at home."

South Korea is not alone in pet-related disasters. Pets are responsible for around 1,000 house fires in the United States every year, per data from the American Human Association.