Air Conditioner Makes 'Tak Tak' Sound Then Smells Burnt... Bed Mattress Was the Fire Starter

490 Times More Flammable Than TV and 230 Times More Than Wooden Desks

A fire broke out at a hotel in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, resulting in the deaths of seven guests. It was found that the bed mattress in the hotel room acted as a 'fire starter.'

Crackling Sound and Burning Smell from Air Conditioner... Open Door While Changing Room Likely Worsened the Disaster

The hotel room in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, where 7 people died. [Image source: Office of Yoon Gun-young, Democratic Party of Korea]

On the 25th, the fire authorities explained that during the Bucheon hotel fire on the 22nd, the first smoke began to leak out toward the corridor from room 810 (7th floor), the ignition point, at around 7:37 PM. This was about two minutes after guest A, who was assigned to room 810, had left the room.

Earlier, guest A noticed a crackling sound from the air conditioner along with a burning smell upon entering room 810 and requested a room change from the hotel staff, moving to a room on the 6th floor directly below. During this process, the door to room 810 was left open toward the corridor. Because of this, the thick smoke that started in room 810 filled the 7th-floor corridor within 1 minute and 23 seconds through the open door, which prevented other guests from quickly evacuating to the 1st floor.

Based on closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage and guest A’s eyewitness account, the fire authorities estimate that the fire was caused by an air conditioner electrical short circuit. Air conditioner fires typically occur due to overload from prolonged operation or when dust and foreign substances accumulate on old wiring.

Sparks from Air Conditioner Spread to Sofa and Mattress... Mattress Burns 230 Times Faster Than Wooden Desk

The fire authorities believe that sparks from the air conditioner spread to the sofa and bed. The air conditioner in room 810 was wall-mounted, with a sofa underneath and a bed mattress placed right next to it. When a mattress catches fire, a phenomenon called 'flashover' can occur, engulfing the entire room in explosive flames.

According to research by the Korean Society of Disaster Prevention, bed mattresses ignite 490 times faster than TVs. The 'fire growth rate' of mattresses was found to be 230 times faster than wooden desks, which are commonly known to be flammable, and 9 times faster than dressers. Although sofas have about half the fire growth rate of mattresses, once ignited, they spread fire much faster compared to other furnishings.

"Flame Retardant Standards Needed for Mattresses in Lodging Facilities," Experts Advise

Comparison Test of Flame Retardant Performance of Bed Mattresses.
[Image Source=Fire Insurance Association]

Professor Ryu Sang-il of the Department of Fire and Disaster Administration at Dong-Eui University told Yonhap News, "If room 810, where the fire occurred, had been an ondol (heated floor) room without a bed, even if the fire started at the air conditioner, someone could have discovered it and extinguished it with a fire extinguisher, ending the fire at a minor level." He added, "It is certain that the bed mattress near the air conditioner acted as a fire starter." He further emphasized, "Mattresses, being chemical products, emit much more toxic gas when burning compared to wooden furniture. Mattresses in lodging facilities should comply with flame retardant performance standards and use fire-resistant products."

The police and fire authorities are investigating the exact cause of the fire based on detailed forensic analysis results from the National Forensic Service.