Investigators leave a hotel in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, on Friday after conducting a joint investigation into a fire that broke out Thursday night and claimed seven lives. Yonhap
Poison gas and missing sprinkler system responsible for 7 deaths, says expert
By Jung Da-hyun
The rapid spread of toxic gases was largely responsible for the unexpectedly high number of victims in a hotel fire in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, late Thursday, security experts said Friday.
According to the fire department, seven people were killed in the incident and a dozen others were injured. Three of them suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries.
The fire broke out at 7:39 p.m. in a room on the eighth floor of the nine-story hotel.
Around 160 firefighters, 90 police officers and 70 emergency vehicles, including fire engines, were dispatched to the scene. The fire was completely extinguished at 10:26 p.m., more than two hours after it broke out.
Although the fire did not spread throughout the building, the higher-than-expected death toll was attributed to the rapid spread of toxic smoke that filled the hotel and made evacuation difficult. There were 27 guests in the hotel at the time, many of whom attempted to escape as thick black smoke quickly enveloped the building.
The gas also caused widespread suffocation and thus an increase in deaths.
Most of the victims were found in the stairwells and corridors of the eighth and ninth floors, near the source of the fire.
Since many victims were found in stairwells, there is a possibility that the fire door separating the stairwell from the source of the fire was left open.
“When a fire occurs, people must use the stairs to evacuate, but if the fire doors are open, toxic gases can fill the stairs and block the escape route,” said Kong Ha-sung, a professor at the Department of Fire and Disaster Prevention at Woosuk University.
He warned that toxic gases could spread quickly through stairwells and stressed that flammable materials in the hotel, such as mattresses, blankets and wooden furniture, probably accelerated the fire and increased the production of harmful fumes.
The hotel, built in 2003, did not have a sprinkler system installed because it was not required at the time.
Since 2017, fire safety regulations have required all new buildings with six or more stories to be equipped with sprinkler systems on every floor. However, this requirement does not apply retroactively, with the exception of medical facilities and facilities for the elderly and children, such as nursing homes and daycare centers.
Because of this regulatory loophole, older buildings, such as the hotel in Bucheon, are particularly vulnerable to fire.
“Hotels and other older accommodation establishments should also be required to retrofit sprinkler systems,” Kong stressed.
In addition, two guests – a man and a woman – died after jumping from the hotel onto an air mattress below, which flipped over on impact.
The fire department assumes that the guests jumped because the hotel was filled with smoke and evacuation via the stairs or elevators was impossible.
The air mattress was properly set up, but tipped over when one of the guests landed on a corner.
Kong noted that there is currently no specific protocol for securing air mattresses during rescue operations and stressed that such guidelines should be added to the safety manual.
Interior Minister Lee Sang-min (center) receives a briefing on the fire incident at the scene in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, on Friday. Yonhap
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Lee Sang-min visited the fire scene on Friday morning and ordered comprehensive measures to deal with the aftermath of the incident.
“I would like to express my deepest condolences,” Lee said. “The government will thoroughly investigate the cause of this tragedy and take measures to prevent such accidents from happening again.”
Cho Seon-ho, chief of the Gyeonggi-do fire department, said during a briefing at the scene that a short circuit or other electrical problems probably caused the fire.
The fire department reported that a guest reported a burning smell after entering room 810, where the fire broke out, and then asked to be moved to another room. Room 810 was unoccupied at the time the fire broke out.
Based on the reported smell of fire, firefighters suspect that the fire may have been caused by electrical factors, such as a short circuit, in the empty room.
Police conducted a joint inspection of the fire scene from 11am on Friday, involving 31 firefighters and National Forensic Service officials, to determine the exact cause of the fire.
