One person injured after blaze rips through Suwon apartment

One person was injured in a fire at a 20-story apartment building in Suwon, Gyeonggi, on Wednesday. According to the police, the resident of the unit where the fire broke out fell asleep after turning the air fryer on.

A fire broke out at the apartment unit located on the 16th floor in Suwon, Gyeonggi on Wednesday. [GYEONGGI-DO FIRE SERVICES]

One person was injured in a fire at a 20-story apartment building in Suwon, Gyeonggi, on Wednesday.

The fire started at an apartment unit on the 16th floor around 1 p.m. and quickly spread to the top floor.

According to the police, the resident of the unit where the fire broke out fell asleep after turning the air fryer on.

He was sent to a nearby hospital because of smoke inhalation.

He escaped through the verandah in his underwear and landed on the unit on the 15th floor, which is located beneath his place.

While grasping the handrail, he opened the window of the unit and kicked the mosquito net to get inside the unit.

A black smoke fumes out from the apartment unit in Suwon, Gyeonggi on Wednesday. [GYEONGGI-DO FIRE SERVICES, NEWS1]

A total of 82 firefighters and 29 fire trucks were dispatched to the site after receiving a fire report from the apartment manager.

The responders brought the main blaze under control by 1:17 p.m., though black smoke was still fuming from the apartment as of 2 p.m.

Mr. Kim, a 44-year-old resident, said that “fire sparks and smoke spread to upper units in a flash, reaching the top story in less than five minutes.”

No sprinklers were installed in the units of the apartment, which was built before 2000.

The police and fire authorities will search for further casualties and investigate the cause of the fire once the fire is ultimately extinguished.

BY SON SUNG-BAE [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]