Who Will be Responsible in Case of Fire or Explosion?

It is known that the cause of the fire and explosion at the electrical substation was due to an unexpected oil overflow causing a fire during the no-load operation before official commissioning of the transformer. According to this regulation, the substation is part of the electricity transmission system, identified as a high-risk source.

According to the provisions of Article 623 of the Civil Code 2005: High-risk sources include motorized transportation vehicles, electricity transmission systems, operating industrial plants, weapons, explosives, flammable substances, toxic substances, radioactive substances, wild animals, and other high-risk sources as prescribed by law.

High-risk sources are so-called because they inherently pose objective risks. Although humans always have safety measures during the operation and usage of these high-risk sources, the potential for causation of damage cannot be entirely foreseen. Therefore, the owner of the high-risk source must always comply with the legal regulations regarding the storage, guarding, transportation, and usage of the high-risk source.

Also, Article 623 of the Civil Code 2005 stipulates:

"…2. The owner of the high-risk source must compensate for the damage caused by the high-risk source; if the owner has transferred possession or usage to another person, that person must compensate, unless otherwise agreed. 3. The owner and the person to whom the owner has transferred possession or usage of the high-risk source must compensate for damage even when there is no fault, except in the following cases:
a) Damage caused entirely due to the intentional fault of the damaged person;
b) Damage occurring in a force majeure event or urgent situation, unless otherwise provided by law.…"

Therefore, the determination of compensation responsibility for fires, explosions specifically, and accidents caused by high-risk sources generally will depend on the fault of the owner, manager, or person entrusted with possession and use of that high-risk source; except in cases where the damage is due to the fault of the damaged person or a force majeure event or urgent situation.

Furthermore, if the cause of the fire and explosion is determined to be human error, where the person responsible violated professional rules or was negligent leading to fire and explosion… causing damage, they can be prosecuted for the offense of "Negligence causing serious consequences" or "Unintentional causing injury or harm to the health of others due to violation of professional or administrative rules" under the Criminal Code 1999 as follows:

Article 109. Unintentional causing injury or harm to the health of others due to violation of professional or administrative rules

1. Whoever unintentionally causes injury or harm to the health of another person with a disability rate of 31% or more, due to violation of professional or administrative rules, shall be subject to non-custodial reform for up to three years or imprisonment from six months to three years.

2. The offender may also be banned from holding certain positions or practicing certain professions or doing certain jobs for one to five years.

Article 285. Negligence causing serious consequences

1. Whoever due to negligence fails to perform or improperly performs the assigned task causing serious consequences, if not falling into cases specified in Articles 144, 235, and 301 of this Code, shall be subject to non-custodial reform for up to three years or imprisonment from six months to five years.

2. Committing the crime causing very serious or particularly serious consequences, shall be subject to imprisonment from three to twelve years.

3. The offender shall also be banned from holding certain positions or practicing certain professions or doing certain jobs for one to five years.

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