Cheongju Villa Fire: Police Officer Helping Residents Evacuate Trapped, Safely Rescued

[Financial News] A fire broke out at a villa in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, temporarily trapping a police officer directing residents to evacuate and a resident in their 80s. Both were safely rescued by firefighters.
Police and fire authorities said on the 28th that a fire broke out at around 6:25 p.m. that day on the first floor of a three-story villa in Sacheon-dong, Cheongwon-gu, Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province.
The police officer, who was the first to arrive at the scene after receiving a fire report, entered the building to evacuate Ms. A, a woman in her 80s who lived on the second floor. However, dense smoke and other conditions prevented them from getting out, and the two became trapped. Firefighters who arrived later rescued them and brought them outside safely.
Ms. A inhaled smoke and was taken to a nearby hospital, where she is receiving treatment. Another woman in her 80s who lived on the third floor also inhaled smoke, but reportedly refused to be taken to hospital. Five residents on the first floor, where the fire started, evacuated on their own immediately after the fire broke out and escaped harm.
The fire burned part of the interior of the first-floor unit and was completely extinguished about 30 minutes after it started.
Police and fire authorities plan to investigate the exact cause of the fire and the extent of the property damage once they have finished clearing the scene.

[email protected] Park Ji-hyun Reporter