A firefighter who went into cardiac arrest while battling a factory fire in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, has died.
Fire authorities said on the 17th that the firefighter, identified only as A, a person in their 40s, died while receiving treatment at a hospital after being taken there during the previous day's blaze. The fire broke out at about 8:38 a.m. on the 16th at a metal injection-molding and printing plant in Nae-dong, Ojeong-gu, Bucheon, and was extinguished two hours and 28 minutes later.
A total of eight people were injured in the firefighting operation, including six firefighters and two factory workers. Two firefighters in their 40s who entered the building inhaled smoke and were critically injured, and one of them, A, went into cardiac arrest and later died at the hospital.
The two critically injured firefighters were part of the first unit to reach the scene and had moved in to fight the blaze, authorities said. Fire officials believe the flames spread rapidly and produced heavy smoke, leaving the two seriously hurt.
Four other firefighters were taken to hospitals with symptoms of heat exhaustion, and two factory workers were treated for smoke inhalation and other injuries.
Police, fire authorities and other related agencies planned to conduct a joint forensic examination at the site at about 9:30 a.m. the same day to determine the exact cause of the fire and the circumstances of the accident.