Fire in Commercial Building Prevented from Major Damage by Citizens' Quick Response

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Citizens' prompt response helped prevent major damage from a fire that occurred at a commercial building in Gwangju Metropolitan City.

According to the Gwangsan Fire Station in Gwangju on the 11th, a fire broke out on the exterior wall of a commercial building in Sanjeong-dong, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, around 9 p.m. on the 9th.

The fire rapidly ignited the building's exterior wall made of dryvit material, which could have led to a large-scale fire.

Jo Jang-geun (49), a business owner near the fire site, smelled smoke and immediately reported it to 119. Another business owner, Son Dae-seong (42), heard about the fire from nearby merchants and took a fire extinguisher from his store to help put out the fire.

Thanks to the initial firefighting using the extinguisher before the arrival of 119, the fire did not spread elsewhere, resulting in property damage of only about 500,000 won.

The fire is believed to have started when a cigarette butt ignited a pile of trash against the wall of the commercial building.

Son Dae-seong said, "I am usually very interested in fire prevention, so I am relieved that the fire extinguisher kept in the store was able to prevent a major fire."

Kim Hwang-jae, head of the on-site response team at Gwangsan Fire Station, said, "Quick reporting and use of fire extinguishers are very important in the early stages of a fire," and added, "We are grateful that citizens' prompt actions helped prevent major damage."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.