Minister of the Interior and Safety Ko Gi-dong noted on the morning of the 14th regarding the fire that broke out at the Banyan Tree Hotel construction site in Busan's Gijang County, "The Ministry of Employment and Labor, the Korea National Police Agency, the National Fire Agency, Busan City, Gijang County, and other related agencies should mobilize all available equipment and personnel to focus on fire suppression and rescue operations."
Minister Ko also said, "Please do your best to ensure that no safety accidents occur among firefighters during the fire suppression process," and added, "The police should ensure thorough control around the fire scene."
According to the fire department, a report was received at 10:51 a.m. that a fire had occurred at a construction site of a resort in Busan's Gijang County. Subsequently, firefighters dispatched to the scene at 11 a.m. issued the first response at 11:10 a.m. and elevated the response level to the second stage at noon. The second stage of response is an alert level that mobilizes between 51 to 80 units of equipment from 8 to 14 fire stations.
As of 1:24 p.m. that day, four people had died in the fire. Two were in a state of cardiac arrest, and five others were injured.
The fire department suspects that the ignition started from insulation materials near the swimming pool on the first floor of the construction site.