▲ A notice regarding carrying portable power banks posted inside a subway station
Over the past three years, the number of portable power bank fires in Seoul has exceeded 100, with more than half occurring last year alone, showing a sharp increase.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Fire and Disaster Headquarters, a total of 107 power bank fires occurred in Seoul over the three-year period from 2023 to last year.
On November 1 last year, a fire started from a power bank charging at the head of a bed in an apartment in Gwanak-gu, killing a couple in their 30s and leaving a newborn severely injured.
Including this incident, there were seven casualties over the three years, with two deaths and five injuries, and approximately 277 million won in property damage.
The annual number of fires has steadily increased, rising from 15 cases in 2023 to 37 in 2024 and 55 in 2025.
In terms of proportion, last year alone accounted for 51.4% of the total.
The headquarters added that the number of power bank-related hazard cases reported to the Korea Consumer Agency's Consumer Injury Surveillance System also surged more than six-fold over three years, from 22 cases in 2021 to 136 in 2024.
Power banks are often charged or stored in places with many combustible materials, such as beds and sofas, making it easy for fires to spread rapidly.
During the summer, exposure to high temperatures can cause the internal temperature of power banks to rise, leading to "thermal runaway," which can make extinguishing the fire difficult, requiring extra caution.
Furthermore, if a power bank fire occurs in confined spaces such as airplanes or subways, smoke can spread quickly, and evacuation routes may be limited.
While power banks are mostly stored in bags and pouches, the headquarters explained that there are currently no performance standards, such as fire resistance, established for these pouches.
▲ On June 19, a fire adaptability test on various commercially available power bank storage pouches is conducted at the Seoul Fire Academy in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul.
In response, the headquarters, along with eight related organizations including the Korea Airports Corporation, Seoul Metro, and Korail, conducted an experiment on June 19 using four types of commercially available pouches to examine how they affect the spread of smoke and flames during a battery fire.
Based on the results, the headquarters plans to recommend to relevant authorities the necessity of establishing performance standards for pouches and related institutional improvements.
The headquarters will also strengthen education to prevent power bank fires.
For citizens, fire patterns associated with the use of battery storage pouches will be incorporated into educational materials, and the dangers of power bank fires will be publicized in connection with civil safety experience centers and fire station safety education.
For station staff at Seoul Metro and the Airport Railroad, training will be provided on the characteristics of power bank fires and initial response procedures.
Practical training using equipment such as fire-resistant gloves, pouches, and water tanks will also be conducted.
Expecting an increase in power bank usage during the summer vacation season, the headquarters plans to provide safety guidelines for charging, storing, and carrying them on its website (fire.seoul.go.kr) and social media channels.
Hong Young-geun, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Fire and Disaster Headquarters, said, "Power banks have become an essential product in citizens' daily lives, but they require special caution as smoke and flames can spread in a short time if a fire occurs." He added, "We will recommend that relevant agencies establish standards so that pouches meeting certain performance criteria can be distributed on the market, and we will also strengthen the dissemination of practical safety guidelines for citizens."
(Photo: Seoul Metro, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.