A fire at Jeseok Elementary School in Tongyeong City, South Gyeongsang Province, destroyed 19 classrooms and 19 vehicles, causing approximately $1.12 million in property damage. Jeseok Elementary School will be closed temporarily due to the fire until the 20th.
According to the South Gyeongsang Province Fire Department, on the 19th, the fire broke out at the garbage disposal area of Tongyeong Jeseok Elementary School around 2:01 p.m. the previous day and was extinguished around 3:48 p.m.
The fire that started in the garbage disposal area on the school’s first floor, which has a piloti structure, is believed to have quickly spread to the exterior wall of the 5th-floor school and the classrooms.
As a result of this fire, a total of three people, including a female student in her teens, a faculty member in her 60s, and a parent in her 40s who had come to pick up her child, inhaled smoke and were transported to the hospital.
About 550 other students and faculty members were quickly evacuated, preventing a major accident.
This fire completely destroyed 12 classrooms, partially destroyed 7 classrooms, and burned 19 parked vehicles, causing an estimated $1.12 million in property damage, according to the fire department.
The fire department and the National Forensic Service plan to conduct a joint inspection at 10:30 a.m. today to determine the exact cause of the fire.
The South Gyeongsang Province Office of Education announced that it will temporarily suspend classes until the 20th and adjust the schedule.