Firefighter Dies in Line of Duty After Responding to Bucheon Factory Fire 20 Minutes Before Off-Duty

[Anchor]

A firefighter who fell into a state of cardiac arrest during a factory fire in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, has ultimately passed away. It was reported that the firefighter died in the line of duty after being dispatched to the scene just 20 minutes before his shift ended.

Reporter Shin Yong-il has the details.

[Reporter]

Fire Inspector Kim Jin-seok, 44, was transported to the hospital in a state of cardiac arrest following a factory fire in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province.

He ultimately passed away in the line of duty at 12:55 AM yesterday (October 17).

With 13 years of service, Fire Inspector Kim had finished his 24-hour shift and was about 20 minutes away from leaving work when a report of a factory fire was received. He arrived at the scene within five minutes and was among the first to enter the factory as part of a two-person team.

The two individuals conducted suppression operations for about 20 minutes before becoming trapped by flames and smoke.

When rescued 30 minutes later, Fire Inspector Kim was in cardiac arrest, and his colleague who was with him also sustained severe injuries and was rushed for emergency treatment.

The bereaved family told SBS reporting teams, "We remember how overjoyed Kim was when he was appointed as a firefighter," and burst into tears, adding, "He has a young daughter who is scheduled to enter elementary school next year."

At the joint memorial altar, where citizens continued to visit, colleagues could not hide their grief.

[Ahn Jun-shik / Busan: My heart aches. I hope that we become more vigilant about safety and that institutional measures are properly established so that tragedies like this do not happen again.]

President Lee Jae-myung stated, "We will not forget the deceased's sacrifice," and added, "We will thoroughly review safety measures to ensure that frontline personnel can carry out their duties safely."

President Lee visited the mortuary around 6:00 PM yesterday to pay his respects, console the bereaved family, and personally bestow a decoration in front of the portrait.

(Video playback: Lee Jae-young, Lee Chan-soo | Video editing: Lee So-young | Design: Cho Soo-in)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.