Smoke inhalation patient's treatment delayed as emergency rooms say no

A person in their 20s who inhaled a large amount of smoke from a fire in Gyeonggi was unable to receive treatment for about three hours due to difficulties finding an emergency room that would take them.

Smoke seen from the apartment that caught fire in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi on Saturday. [NORTHERN GYEONGGI-DO PROVINCIAL FIRE & DISASTER HEADQUARTERS]

A person in their 20s who inhaled a large amount of smoke from a fire in Gyeonggi was unable to receive treatment for about three hours due to difficulties finding an emergency room that would take them.

According to police and fire authorities, a fire broke out on the seventh floor of an apartment in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi, at around 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.

The fire was completely extinguished in about 20 minutes at around 1:52 p.m., but the patient had already inhaled a large amount of smoke.

Fire authorities attempted to find an emergency room to transport the patient to, but more than 10 hospitals, including those in northern Gyeonggi, as well as in Seoul's Songpa, Gangbuk and Dongdaemun Districts, informed them that they could not provide treatment.

An emergency care crisis is underway due to the prolonged medical vacuum that began when junior doctors resigned en masse in February to protest the government's plan to increase medical school admissions quotas.

The patient was eventually transferred to Hanyang University Seoul Hospital in Seongdong District, eastern Seoul, after 4 p.m. and could receive treatment.

“The patient had inhaled a large amount of smoke, not just a small amount, and was in serious condition,” said a fire official. “But there was no hospital to transfer the patient to, so they remained at the scene for a long time."

Authorities are investigating the cause of the fire and the extent of the damage.

BY KIM EUN-BIN [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]