▲ Residents evacuated an apartment complex in Chuncheon following a false fire report.
Residents of an apartment complex in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, evacuated their homes after reports of a burning smell were called in to emergency services, but the incident was later determined to be a false alarm.
According to the Gangwon State Fire Headquarters and other authorities, approximately 20 calls were made to 119 at around 9:54 p.m. yesterday (June 20), reporting a "burning smell" in the vicinity of an apartment complex in Onui-dong, Chuncheon.
Immediately after the reports, 119 firefighters and rescue personnel were dispatched to the complex to search for the source of the fire. The situation was resolved in about 30 minutes after it was confirmed to be a false alarm.
During the incident, about 100 residents voluntarily evacuated the building, causing a brief commotion.
"We received about 20 reports of a smell and were dispatched to investigate, but it was confirmed to be a false alarm," fire authorities stated. "We suspect that smoke from a fire at an office in Sindong, which occurred around the same time, was carried by the wind and led to the reports."
The fire at the office in Sindong, which broke out at approximately 9:04 p.m. yesterday, destroyed a 965-square-meter building and the tools inside, causing an estimated 28 million won in property damage before being extinguished 55 minutes later.
(Photo: Provided by reader via social media, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.