Miryang hospital fire

On 26 January 2018, a fire at the Sejong Hospital in the South Korean city of Miryang killed 41 people[3][6] and injured 153.[5][7][8][1][9] It was South Korea's deadliest fire in nearly a decade.[1] The fire occurred one month after 29 people died in a gym fire in the city of Jecheon. The cause of the fire is under investigation.[10][11]

Miryang hospital fire
Miryang hospital fire (South Korea)
Date26 January 2018 (2018-01-26)
Time7:35 a.m. (KST)
Duration3 hours[1]
VenueSejong Hospital
LocationMiryang, South Gyeongsang, South Korea
Coordinates35°28′34″N 128°45′58″E
TypeHospital fire
Deaths41[2][3][4]
Non-fatal injuries153[5]

Hospitals

The Sejong Hospital and adjacent Sejong Nursing Hospital were established in 2008 by the Hyoseong Medical Foundation. The Sejong Hospital is a large general hospital; the hospital and the Sejong Nursing Hospital have 95 beds and 98 beds respectively with 27 medical staff each.[12]

The Sejong Hospital was not required to install fire sprinklers based on its aggregate area, whereas in the Sejong Nursing Hospital, sprinklers were required to be installed after the relevant law was revised and were planned to be installed by 30 June.[12]

Incident

The fire began on the first floor of the Sejong Hospital at 7:35 a.m. (KST). At the time, there were over 100 patients in the main hospital and 94 in the adjacent nursing home complex.[13] Two nurses stated that they had seen fire suddenly erupting in the emergency room, immediately triggering an evacuation process throughout the hospital and nursing home. As the fire began to spread through the first level of the main hospital, large volumes of smoke spread into the upper floors.

By the time firefighters arrived, 25 people were already dead.[14] Firefighters worked through thick smoke to save patients, including 15 patients from the third floor intensive care unit under the supervision of hospital staff.[15]

Shortly after the fire began, local Miryang resident Jeong Dong Hwa mounted a rescue effort that saved the lives of ten people who were trapped on the hospital's fifth floor.[16] Jeong's brother-in-law and sister-in-law also participated in rescue efforts to help save the lives of people trapped on the third floor.[17]

The fire was brought under control after 9:30 a.m. (KST).

Victims

The fire killed 41 people and injured 153.[3][5] Among the 41 deaths were one doctor, one nurse and one assistant nurse. Thirty people were over 70 years old.[18][19] Jeong's 88-year-old mother-in-law was found alive on the third floor but died the following day.[17]

Response

In the immediate aftermath of the fire, South Korean President Moon Jae-in called an emergency meeting, ordering emergency officials in and around the area to continue focusing life-saving support on the evacuated patients.[20] Senior officials from both ruling and opposition parties traveled to the area to offer their condolences to victims and families.

Ruling Democratic Party spokeswoman Kim Hyun urged authorities "to mobilize all available personnel and equipment to handle the aftermath" while Liberty Korea Party spokesman Choung Tae-ok demanded no negligence in rescue operations. Referencing the Jecheon fire disaster from the previous December, People's Party spokeswoman Lee Heang-Ja stated members felt "deeply saddened that a fire occurred again when the citizens' sorrow of the Jecheon fire still lingers."[21]

For his heroic rescue efforts, Jeong was honored with the President's Award by President Moon.[22]

See also

References
  1. "Dozens killed in South Korean hospital fire". BBC News. 26 January 2018. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  2. Jo, Un (27 January 2018). 사망자 계속 증가 밀양 세종병원 화재‥ 대책은?. MediaPana (in Korean). Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  3. Jo, Yong-hoon (26 January 2018). 밀양 세종병원 화재 사망 39명·부상 131명. News Tomato (in Korean). Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  4. 밀양 세종병원 화재 참사 사망자 1명 더 늘어…총 41명 (in Korean). asiae.co.kr. 3 February 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  5. 1월 27일 오늘의 안전 상황. Fire Prevention News (in Korean). 27 January 2018. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  6. Choi, He-suk (26 January 2018). "Death toll from hospital fire in Miring jumps to 41". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  7. "South Korea hospital fire kills 33 people". Australian Broadcast Corporation. 26 January 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  8. "South Korean hospital fire kills dozens". The Sydney Morning Herald. 26 January 2018. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  9. Lee, Taehoon (26 January 2018). "South Korean hospital fire kills 39, injures more than 70". CNN. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  10. "Hospital fire breaks out in South Korea, kills more than 30". CBS News. 25 January 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  11. Choe, Sang-Hun (26 January 2018). "South Korea Hospital Fire Kills at Least 37 People". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  12. 밀양 세종병원은 어떤 곳… 요양병원 붙어있고 193병상 갖춰 [What is Sejong Hospital in Milyang? There are 193 hospital beds attached to the nursing hospital]. JoongAng Ilbo. 26 January 2018.
  13. Choe, Sang-Hun (25 January 2018). "Fire Kills at least 33 People at South Korea Hospital". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  14. 밀양 세종병원서 불 37명 사망 143명 다쳐…최악 참사(종합). Yonhap News (in Korean). 26 January 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  15. "More than 30 killed in South Korea hospital blaze". France24. 26 January 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  16. ""I can't get my mother-in-law" Sadness of Jeong Dong-ha who rescued ten Yangyang fires". SBS News. 29 January 2018.
  17. "[2018 You're Hero] Sejong Hospital Fire Ladder Ride". Hankook Ilbo. 22 December 2018.
  18. "밀양 세종병원 화재사고 인명피해 188명으로 늘어" [Victims from the fire accident in Milyang Sejong Hospital increased to 188]. The Hankyoreh. 27 January 2018.
  19. "'밀양 화재' 사망자 37명 중 30명, 81%가 70세 이상이었다" [Thirty of the 37 deaths in 'Miryang Fire' and 81% were over 70]. Chosun.com. 26 January 2018.
  20. Kim, Christine (26 January 2018). "Blaze in South Korean hospital kills 31, injures more than 70". Reuters. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  21. "Parties call for all-out efforts to handle aftermath of hospital fire". The Korea Herald. Yonhap. 26 January 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  22. 밀양 참사 의인 정동화씨 대통령상. Ulsan Press. 28 May 2018.
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