Quick-thinking firefighter enables rescue of 52 from blaze in Gyeonggi

A fire broke out in a six-story commercial building in Ansan, Gyeonggi, early Sunday, but a veteran firefighter's quick judgment led to the rescue of all 52 people.

Firefighters hose down a blaze in a commercial building in Ansan, Gyeonggi on Sunday. [GYEONGGI FIRE & DISASTER HEADQUARTERS]

A fire broke out in a six-story commercial building in Ansan, Gyeonggi, early Sunday, but a veteran firefighter's quick judgment led to the rescue of all 52 people.

The fire began around 3:38 a.m. in a restaurant on the first floor of the building. The fifth and sixth floors each housed motels that were heavily occupied.

With intense heat making approaching the fire difficult, firefighters followed the quick judgment of Park Hong-kyu, a rescue team leader of the Ansan Fire Station with 31 years of experience, breaking the windows in each stairwell with axes.

The broken windows let heat and smoke escape, enabling Park and his rescue team to access the fifth and sixth floors, where evacuees were gathered.

“When we first arrived, the heat and smoke were at their peak, and we kept receiving radio messages saying that there were motels in the building and multiple rescue calls were coming in,” said Park. "Five of us, including myself, entered the second floor but had to retreat to the first floor because of the heat.”

Smashed windows on the commercial building that caught fire in Gyeonggi on Sunday [GYEONGGI FIRE & DISASTER HEADQUARTERS]

"I noticed the large windows on the stairwell for each floor,” said Park. “We returned to the second floor and broke one with an axe, which shattered easier than expected. I told the team to break all the windows as we climbed, letting the heat and smoke escape."

The firefighters helped guests put on masks and escorted them down the stairs individually. The team went up and down the building more than ten times, ultimately rescuing 49 people, while three others escaped on their own.

Two of the rescued individuals were classified as seriously injured, but they have since received hospital treatment and returned home.

The fire authorities, seeing the potential for significant casualties, issued a Level Two response, deploying 233 personnel and 82 pieces of equipment. A Level Two response, the second highest of the three-tier system, pools personnel and resources from five to six nearby fire stations.

Among the rescued were two people who saved themselves by jumping onto an air mattress on the ground.

After the tragic hotel fire in Bucheon, Gyeonggi, in August, mattress rescue training was strengthened. The Bucheon fire that erupted on the eighth floor of a nine-story hotel killed seven — five from smoke inhalation and two who died during a botched mattress rescue attempt.

Firefighters deploy onto the fire scene in Gyeonggi on Sunday. [GYEONGGI FIRE & DISASTER HEADQUARTERS]

“When I saw the fire scene and heard there were motels inside, I immediately thought of the Bucheon hotel fire,” said Park. “We discussed and trained a lot about the fire. I didn’t feel the exhaustion creeping in; I just focused on saving people.”

Ansan Danwon Police Precinct in Gyeonggi announced Sunday that they had conducted a joint inspection with fire authorities to investigate the cause of the fire. The inspection focused on the charcoal grill restaurant on the first floor where the fire started.

“A charcoal grill restaurant, the location where the fire started, uses stainless steel tables with electric connections,” a police official said, “We suspect an electrical cause and are investigating further.”

Based on site conditions, police and fire authorities suspect the fire started on the floor between the restaurant’s storage area and dining hall.

Firefighters hose down the commercial building in Gyeonggi on Sunday. [GYEONGGI FIRE & DISASTER HEADQUARTERS]

The six-story building, with a basement level, houses various establishments, including restaurants, cafes, karaoke rooms and real estate offices. The complex structure covered approximately 13,000 square meters (139,931 square feet).

The building was constructed before the 2018 amendment to the nation's fire prevention law that expanded mandatory sprinkler installation to include buildings with less than 11 stories. Accordingly, the lack of sprinklers in the first-floor restaurant where the fire started did not violate the law, according to the police.

Sprinklers were installed in the motels on the fifth and sixth floors, but they did not activate as the fire did not reach these areas. The presence and functioning of other fire equipment, such as smoke detectors, are still being confirmed.

Based on these findings, police plan to investigate whether the building lacked any legally required safety equipment.

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]