A total of 54 incidents of indoor pets accidentally causing house fires were reported in the decade between fiscal 2013 and 2022, according to a recent report from the National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE).
The main cause of these incidents were cats and dogs triggering gas stove operation buttons while their owners were away. NITE has urged pet owners to take heightened precautions, such as shutting off main gas valves when not in use.
Among the reported cases outlined by NITE, a significant proportion ¡ª totaling 26 incidents ¡ª were attributed to pets activating gas or induction heating stove controls. In two of the incidents, the cats responsible were killed in the fire they caused.
Additionally, 17 incidents were linked to pets urinating on electrical appliances, while seven were caused by pets gnawing through wiring or batteries, causing devices to short circuit.
Of the 26 stove-related fires, 19 were caused by cats, six by dogs, and unusually, one by a baby goat.
In the report, NITE was able to identify distinct behavioral patterns of cats and dogs.
Cats tended to urinate on elevated electrical appliances, such as in the 2014 case of a man in his 40s in Gifu Prefecture, in which one of his cats urinated on a printer, causing a tracking phenomenon in the internal electrical components, which resulted in the device catching fire.
Dogs frequently engaged in wire-chewing behavior, such as in the case of a man in his 70s in Hyogo Prefecture in 2016, in which his dog chewed through a mobile Wi-Fi router, causing it to short-circuit and catch fire, burning the floor around it.
In response, NITE has issued a series of recommendations to mitigate such risks. These include the implementation of precautions such as shutting off the gas stove main valves and powering down induction stoves when pets are left unattended.
Pet owners have also been advised to consider other types of preventative measures, such as using cages, and ensuring that there are no items that would be enticing to pets near stoves.
¡°We hope that by taking double and triple measures, you can protect the lives of your family and your precious pets,¡± NITE said.
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