Yeongam Fire Station Recommends Resident Who Extinguished Fire Early as a 'Hidden Hero'

Fire in the ceiling of a house in Seochang-ri, Samho-eup, Yeongam-gun
(Photo by Yeongam Fire Station)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Seo Young-seo] A fire broke out in the ceiling of a house in Seochang-ri, Samho-eup, Yeongam-gun, Jeollanam-do at around 8:43 a.m. on the 14th.

According to Yeongam Fire Station on the 15th, at the time, a 92-year-old grandmother with limited mobility and her sister in her 80s were living in the house, so if the fire had spread throughout the house, there could have been casualties.

Fortunately, the standalone smoke detector installed in the room activated, and the two elderly women who heard the fire alarm were able to evacuate safely.

Afterwards, the two elderly women informed their neighbor, Seo Bok-ryul (69, Samho-eup), about the fire, and upon hearing this, Mr. Seo encouraged people nearby to call 119 and initially extinguished the fire in the kitchen and ceiling with a fire extinguisher.

Mr. Seo also cut off the power supply to the house to prevent secondary accidents, effectively reducing property damage through his thorough response.

Mr. Seo Bok-ryul said, “In such a situation, anyone would have stepped forward to extinguish the fire,” adding, “Thanks to having residential fire safety equipment installed in advance, I was able to put out the fire without much difficulty.”

Im Dong-hyun, chief of Yeongam Fire Station, said, “We thank Mr. Seo Bok-ryul for risking his safety to promptly take initial action and extinguish the fire to protect the lives and property of his neighbors,” and added, “We have requested commendation for this hidden hero in Jeollanam-do and will continue to do our best to discover and honor hidden heroes who sacrifice for the lives and property of the residents.”

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