Fire occurs at South Korean high school, possibly caused by power bank
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The fire started in a classroom locker, and is thought to have been sparked by a portable power bank stored inside it.
PHOTO: THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
SEOUL – A small fire occurred on Nov 10 in an empty classroom at a South Korean high school, with preliminary investigations suggesting a portable power bank as the likely cause.
According to the Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters, the incident occurred at 9.18am (8.18am Singapore time) at a school in Anseong, Gyeonggi province. The fire started in a classroom locker, and is thought to have been sparked by a portable power bank stored inside the locker.
The locker had contained 20 mobile phones and the power bank, all of which were destroyed in the fire.
No casualties occurred, as all the students had vacated the classroom at the time.
Multiple cases of fires sparked by mobile phone batteries and power banks have been recorded in South Korea recently.
On Jan 28, a fire occurred inside an Air Busan plane about to take off from Gimhae International Airport, causing 27 injuries and crucial damages on the plane.
The official probe pinpointed a battery pack inside an overhead bin as the likely cause of the fire. The incident triggered stricter regulations on packing portable power banks when boarding an airplane.
Lithium-ion batteries used in mobile phones and power banks are generally safe, but extreme heat or physical damage can lead to them catching fire.
According to National Fire Agency data from September, 296 fires in the first half of 2025 were caused by batteries in mobile phones or electric scooters. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
