PHOTOS Jecheon fire kills 29: Firefighters blasted over slow rescue efforts
Firefighters at the scene in Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province, Dec. 21. / Yonhap
By Ko Dong-hwan
Firefighters have been criticized for not acting fast enough to save the 29 people killed in a fire that engulfed an eight-story commercial building in Jecheon on Thursday.
Witnesses said firefighters did not break the windows of the North Chungcheong Province building to allow people to escape but only used their hoses from the outside.
The burned building and its surroundings are covered in soot. / Yonhap
A victim’s husband, in his late 50s, cried that his wife struggled to break out of the building for so long that when he reached her body she no longer had fingerprints. The heartbroken man blamed firefighters for not breaking the windows to let people out.
Firefighters from the Chungbuk Fire Service Headquarters entered the second floor, where 20 of the deaths occurred, 40 minutes after arriving. Many of the victims were in the women’s sauna room in a public bathhouse.
City fire emergency service Chief Lee Sang-min said firefighters could not promptly reach the second floor because cars parked around the building were on fire and there was a danger of gas explosions.
A security video camera near the building shows the inferno starting at 3:53 p.m., Thursday. / Yonhap
Rescuers also were criticized for the delay in positioning a ladder platform fire engine. If it were not for a private firm sending a ladder truck, there might have been more deaths, reports said.
The fire engine was delayed about 30 minutes and saved only one person trapped high in the building while the private truck saved three on the eighth floor.
Lee said the ladder platform arrived late because of parked cars at the site.
Jecheon Mayor Lee Keun-kyu briefs the media at the city office on Friday morning. / Yonhap
The building caught fire when a blaze began in the basement parking lot at 3:53 p.m. The fire quickly spread through the building that houses a fitness center, driving range, public sauna and restaurants. Most of the victims were asphyxiated, while 29 others were injured.
Authorities said 50 fire engines, 60 firefighters and two firefighting helicopters were sent to the scene.
Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon paid an emergency visit to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety last night and directed officials to do their utmost to rescue people. He also sent Interior and Safety Minister Kim Boo-kyum to the scene. President Moon Jae-in expressed his deep sorrow for so many deaths.