Firefighter Suffers Cardiac Arrest in Bucheon Factory Blaze
A fire at a metalworking factory in Bucheon left one firefighter in cardiac arrest and six other people injured, prompting a large emergency response and a presidential call to protect rescuers.
A firefighter went into cardiac arrest and six other people were injured after a fire broke out at a metalworking factory in Bucheon, west of Seoul, on Friday morning, according to officials.
The blaze began at 8:38 a.m. in a four-story factory used for metalworking. Fire authorities deployed 80 firefighters and brought the main fire under control roughly two hours after it started. The response unfolded amid concern over flammable material reportedly stored inside the facility.
Two firefighters sustained serious injuries. One of them was taken to a hospital in a state of cardiac arrest. Three other firefighters and two factory officials suffered minor injuries, including smoke inhalation. Officials had not announced the cause of the fire at the time of the report.
The casualty count underscored the risks faced by emergency crews responding to industrial fires, where stored materials and the layout of a worksite can complicate suppression and rescue operations. Authorities said they planned to investigate how the blaze began. No official conclusion about its cause had been released.
President Lee Jae Myung was briefed on the incident and instructed authorities to make every effort to extinguish the fire and rescue anyone in danger, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said. Lee also called for measures to prevent further damage, pointing to the presence of flammable substances at the factory.
The president separately urged responders to exercise particular caution for the safety of firefighters working at the scene. His remarks came as crews dealt with injuries among their own personnel while continuing the emergency operation.
Bucheon is a densely populated industrial and residential city in Gyeonggi Province immediately west of Seoul. The affected site was described as a metal parts coating factory, an operation where fire control can be especially challenging when combustible substances are present.
The fire authorities’ investigation is expected to focus on the point of ignition, the materials stored at the factory and the sequence of events leading to the injuries. The conditions of the hospitalized firefighters, including the responder taken in cardiac arrest, remained the most urgent concern as officials assessed the aftermath of the Friday morning blaze.