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Fire breaks out in Seongnam commercial building

Published: 03 Jan. 2025, 17:25 Updated: 03 Jan. 2025, 18:15

LEE SOO-JUNG
[email protected]

A fire broke out in a kitchen area inside a commercial building in Seongnam, Gyeonggi on Jan. 3. [NEWS1]

A fire broke out in a commercial building in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, on Friday afternoon at around 4:37 p.m., resulting in minor injuries for 12 people.

At 4:43 p.m., fire authorities escalated the response level from 1 to 2 after receiving reports that people are trapped inside the flame-affected area. Some 103 firefighters are reportedly putting out the blaze at the building with eight stories above ground and five underground floors.

A level 2 response mandates the mobilization of 51 to 80 blaze-extinguishing apparatuses from eight to 14 fire stations nearby.

Fire authorities are guiding people to safety using speakers and devising evacuation routes for those inside the building.

Around 40 people have been rescued by firefighters and approximately 50 have managed to evacuate by themselves as of press time, according to the JoongAng Ilbo. The injured 12 were sent to nearby hospitals, according to local news broadcaster YTN.

The fire appears to have started in a kitchen area on the first floor. Investigators will conduct a detailed probe into the cause once the blaze is fully extinguished.

The Seongnam city government sent out a safety alert advising people to be "cautious not to inhale smoke and not to travel" to the vicinity at around 5 p.m.

Update, Jan. 3: Added casualty report and safety alert sent by Seongnam.
Update, Jan. 3: Added numbers of evacuated people.
Update, Jan. 3: Added suspected cause of the blaze.
Update, Jan. 3: Lede changed. Added casualties.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG [[email protected]]