News in Easy English: Pets caused 54 fires in Tokyo over 10 years

TOKYO — In Tokyo, there were 54 fires caused by indoor pets like cats and dogs in the 10 years until 2022, said the National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE) on March 28. NITE urged people to be careful.

NITE found that the most common cause of pet-related fires was pets pressing switches on gas stoves or induction cooktops, with 25 incidents. Among these, 18 were caused by cats, six by dogs, and one by a young goat. An official said that “cats tend to cause fires by jumping on high objects.”

Specifically, there were cases of dogs touching gas stove switches with their paws, and cats climbing onto induction cooktops and then pressing buttons on the control panel, leading to fires.

NITE advised pet owners to take the following precautions: when leaving pets at home, turn off the main valves of gas stoves or switch off the main power to induction cooktops and electric stoves, and keep pets in cages when leaving them alone.

(Japanese original by Digital News Group)

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