BUCHEON — Three firefighters were injured, one of them taken to a hospital in cardiac arrest, in a fire that broke out at a factory in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, on the morning of the 16th.
The fire started at about 8:38 a.m. at a four-story metal parts painting factory in Nae-dong, Ojeong-gu, Bucheon, according to the Gyeonggi Provincial Fire and Disaster Headquarters. Two firefighters sent in to battle the blaze were briefly trapped before being rescued.
One of the rescued firefighters was transported to a hospital by paramedics in cardiac arrest. The other was also taken to a hospital with serious injuries.
A third firefighter suffered minor injuries while fighting the fire, and two factory workers were also hurt, officials said.
Fire authorities issued a Level 1 response at about 8:57 a.m. and raised it to Level 2 at about 9:09 a.m.
The alert was lowered back to Level 1 at about 10:08 a.m., and the main blaze was brought under control at about 10:22 a.m., roughly two hours after the fire began.
Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae canceled her planned attendance at a meeting of the Governors Association of Korea and the opening ceremony of the 107th National Sports Festival, both held in Jeju Special Self-Governing Province on the same day, and decided to visit the scene of the fire instead.