Fire at Storage Warehouse in Pyeongtaek-si, Gyeonggi
Boy on 2nd Floor Rescued After Being Encouraged to Jump Down
A police officer who responded to a fire scene reassured a sixth-grade elementary school boy who was calling for help from the second floor, encouraged him to jump, and caught him with his body to rescue him.
On the 6th, Yonhap News reported a fire incident that occurred around 4 p.m. the previous day at a storage warehouse in Seokjeong-ri, Poseung-eup, Pyeongtaek-si, Gyeonggi Province. At the time, Sergeant Gu Ja-ung and Officer Kim Gwan-sik of the Poseung Police Substation 1st Team, Pyeongtaek Police Station, who were on patrol and received a joint response request from the fire department, immediately headed to the fire scene.
On the 5th, a fire broke out at a goods storage warehouse in Poseung-eup, Pyeongtaek-si, Gyeonggi Province. [Photo by Yonhap News]
Arriving at the scene six minutes after the report was received, the two surveyed the area around the burning building to see if anyone needed to be rescued. At that moment, they spotted a boy in elementary school, peeking his face out the window on the second floor of the three-story warehouse, shouting "Help me" and requesting rescue.
Sergeant Gu and Officer Kim tried to enter the building to save the boy, but the spreading flames and smoke made it impossible to go inside. The boy calling for help was also unable to escape outside the warehouse. Therefore, the two officers told the boy, "Jump down quickly. We will catch you below, so trust us and jump." Encouraged by these words, the boy hesitated briefly but soon jumped out the window, and Sergeant Gu and Officer Kim threw their bodies to safely catch him.
The rescued boy was A, a sixth-grade elementary school student and the son of the warehouse owner. The police explained that A is slightly thin, with a height of 153 cm and a weight of 43 kg. A was transported to the hospital after inhaling smoke and is currently receiving outpatient treatment. Although the boy sustained sprains and other injuries to his legs, they are reported to be not serious. A’s family expressed their gratitude to the police.
A police official said, "We calmly reassured the frightened boy and then had him jump out the window," adding, "It is fortunate that we were able to find the best method in this urgent situation and save a precious life." Meanwhile, the fire department is investigating the detailed cause of the fire, which is believed to have been caused by electrical factors.
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