Firefighters are extinguishing the remaining flames on the school building and vehicles. [Photo by Gyeongnam Fire Headquarters]
A fire broke out at an elementary school in Tongyeong, Gyeongnam, causing hundreds of students and staff to evacuate urgently.
According to the Gyeongnam Fire Headquarters and Tongyeong Police Station on the 18th, around 2:10 PM that day, flames and smoke rose from the garbage area within Jesuk Elementary School in Gwangdo-myeon, Tongyeong City.
The fire burned about 3,000㎡, which is half of the main school building, and 13 vehicles parked near the school buildings were also damaged.
As the fire broke out, about 500 people including 5th and 6th grade students and staff at the school quickly evacuated.
During this process, three people?a woman in her 60s responsible for school cleaning, a woman in her 40s who was picking up her child, and a teenage female student?were hospitalized after inhaling smoke.
It was confirmed that students from 1st to 4th grade had already returned home before the fire started.
The fire authorities mobilized 29 firefighting vehicles and 87 personnel from Tongyeong Fire Station, Geoje Fire Station, and the 119 Special Response Team, and controlled the major fire around 3:22 PM, completing extinguishment by 3:48 PM.
The Level 1 fire response, issued around 2:18 PM, was lifted at about 3:10 PM.
The police and fire authorities plan to investigate the exact cause and extent of the damage through a joint inspection with the National Forensic Service.
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