Woman braves heights, climbs down apartment wall in attempt to rescue children from fire
Published: 21 Jan. 2026, 09:47
![A crane truck is seen at the scene of a fire that broke out at an apartment in Gwangyang, South Jeolla on Jan. 19. [GWANGYANG FIRE DEAPARTMENT]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/21/845a1d39-f578-494d-bd05-314638fd63bb.jpg)
A crane truck is seen at the scene of a fire that broke out at an apartment in Gwangyang, South Jeolla on Jan. 19. [GWANGYANG FIRE DEAPARTMENT]
A woman in her 40s climbed down the exterior wall of an apartment building in an attempt to rescue her daughters, who were trapped by a fire that broke out in their living room.
A report was received at 5:23 p.m. on Monday about a fire in the living room of a fifth-floor apartment in Gwangyang, South Jeolla, according to the Gwangyang Fire Department Tuesday.
Three children under the age of five were in the home at the time.
When the woman found herself unable to reach the children due to flames and smoke, she ran up to the sixth floor and climbed down the building’s outer wall through the balcony window to reach her apartment.
After entering the apartment, she stayed with the children, shielding them from danger until firefighters arrived. She and the children were later rescued using a ladder truck.
Emergency responders dispatched 10 fire and rescue vehicles and 30 personnel. Extinguishing the fire and completing the rescue operation within 26 minutes.
All four family members were taken to the hospital with minor smoke inhalation but have since been discharged.
“A parent’s concern for their children must have outweighed everything else in that urgent moment,” a firefighter said. “Still, climbing between balconies is extremely dangerous, and it was a stroke of luck that it didn’t lead to a secondary accident.”
The Gwangyang city government is reportedly reviewing support measures for the woman and her
daughters, who lost their home in the fire.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JUNG SI-NAE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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