Foreign Visitor Collapses with a 'Thud' While Boarding Plane... Identity of Korean Who Rushed to Save Revealed

Helped Provide Emergency Treatment Through Initial Actions Such as Securing an AED
Story of Police Officers Who Quickly Extinguished a Fire Also Revealed Later

The story of a firefighter who rescued a foreign tourist who collapsed from cardiac arrest at an airport during an overseas trip was revealed belatedly. According to the fire authorities on the 20th, Firefighter Eun Seong-yong, who works at the Yongin Fire Station's Idong 119 Safety Center in Gyeonggi Province, discovered a foreign man who suddenly collapsed while waiting to board a plane at Don Mueang International Airport in Thailand on the 9th.

On the 9th, Eun Seong-yong, a firefighter from Yongin Fire Station (left), and Professor Choi Il-guk from the Emergency Medical Center at Cheonan Chungmu Hospital (right) are performing emergency treatment on a foreign man who collapsed due to cardiac arrest at Don Mueang International Airport in Thailand. Photo by Yongin Fire Station

Firefighter Eun immediately ran to the man and was asked by a Korean man performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to "find an automated external defibrillator (AED)." Recalling that he had seen an AED while waiting to board, he quickly located the device. Returning to the scene, he attached the patches to the collapsed man's chest and secured the airway while providing emergency treatment. Fortunately, the man's breathing and pulse returned. The Korean man performing CPR was Professor Choi Il-guk, an emergency medical center professor at Cheonan Chungmu Hospital and a paramedic doctor for the National Fire Agency.

After the emergency scene was cleared, Firefighter Eun quietly left and returned to his duties as usual. Later, Professor Choi searched for the firefighter who had helped and eventually identified Eun's identity and informed the fire station of the incident. Firefighter Eun said, "I just did what was naturally expected of me as a firefighter, but I am rather grateful that you found me and expressed your thanks."

At noon on the 10th, a fire broke out in a pile of waste paper next to a commercial building in Jungang-dong, Gwacheon-si. Officer Ihwanseok Lee (29) from the Security and Traffic Division of Gwacheon Police Station is extinguishing the fire with a fire extinguisher. Provided by Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency

In addition to the previous story, it was also revealed belatedly that Police Corporal Lee Hwan-seok and Police Officer Yang Jeong-hoon from the Security and Traffic Division of Gwacheon Police Station discovered a scene that could have led to a large fire and extinguished it early. Around 12:15 p.m. on the 10th, after having lunch in Jungang-dong, Gwacheon City, the two stopped by a nearby cafe and smelled a smoky burning odor. They went outside and confirmed that flames were rising from a pile of boxes and waste paper near the building's exterior. Corporal Lee took a fire extinguisher from the building corridor and sprayed it, while Officer Yang ran to the nearby Gwacheon Fire Station to report the fire. Using two fire extinguishers, they extinguished the fire in about five minutes.

Above the fire site, there was a city gas pipe installed, and an electric car was parked right next to it, so if the flames had spread, it could have led to a major fire. Fortunately, the fire was extinguished early, and aside from some damage to the building's exterior wall, no further damage occurred. Corporal Lee said, "I am really relieved that no additional damage occurred."