Fire at National Palace Museum of Korea "burns itself out; no casualties or damage to cultural heritage"

The blaze occurred in the basement of the National Palace Museum of Korea in Jongno District, Seoul, but fortunately burned itself out within a few minutes without causing major damage.
According to the Korea Heritage Service and fire authorities on the 23rd, a report of a fire on the first basement level of the National Palace Museum of Korea came in at around 2:44 a.m. that day.
Fire authorities deployed 50 personnel and 15 pieces of equipment, but the fire went out on its own at about 2:49 a.m., five minutes after the report was received. There were no casualties, and although some facilities were burned, no artifacts were damaged.
However, some smoke entered the interior of the museum, and it plans to close for a day.
The fire is believed to have started when a humidifier filter on the first basement level of the museum overheated.
Fire authorities completed an on-site inspection at around 4:40 a.m. and then withdrew from the scene.
Immediately after the fire broke out, the museum prepared to move artifacts stored in the collection storage room on the first basement level as a precaution and checked the condition of key items.
The National Palace Museum of Korea is dedicated to the royal culture of Joseon and the imperial culture of the Korean Empire. It houses a total of 89,234 artifacts, including eight National Treasures, 336 Treasures, and 766 items inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.jyseo@fnnews.com Seo Ji-yoon Reporter