Fire at hospital operating room prompts evacuation of patients and staff

Firefighters respond after a blaze broke out in an operating room at Chosun University Hospital in Dong-gu, Gwangju, on Monday. (Yonhap)

A fire broke out in an operating room at Chosun University Hospital in Gwangju on Monday morning, prompting the evacuation of about 40 patients and medical staff, according to fire authorities.

The Gwangju Fire Department said it received a report at around 8:12 a.m. that a fire had started in the hospital’s seventh operating room, located on the third floor of its new building.

Although firefighters were dispatched, the blaze was extinguished within 10 minutes by medical staff using on-site fire extinguishers.

Forty patients and medical staff were transferred to the emergency room after inhaling smoke. No surgeries were underway at the time, and no casualties were reported.

Medical staff are seen in front of an operating room at Chosun University Hospital in Gwangju on Monday, after a fire broke out in one of the operating rooms. The blaze was extinguished within about 10 minutes. (Yonhap)

Authorities believe the fire may have been caused by an electrical short circuit involving a power strip in the operating room. A full investigation will begin after smoke ventilation is completed.

The hospital said the operating room will remain closed until a full safety inspection is carried out.