The funeral for two firefighters who died in the line of duty while battling a fire at a cold-storage warehouse in Wando County, South Jeolla, was held.
The funeral for the late Fire Captain Park Seung-won and the late Fire Sergeant No Tae-young was held at 9 a.m. on the 14th at the Wando Farmers and Fishers Culture and Sports Center in Wando County, South Jeolla.
They lost their lives at about 8:25 a.m. on the 12th while putting out a fire at a seafood processing company's cold-storage warehouse in Wondong-ri, Gunoe-myeon, Wando County, South Jeolla. They had extinguished the blaze once, but when smoke rose again inside the warehouse, they attempted to reenter and were killed.
Captain Park was the father of three children, ages 15, 14 and 10, and Sergeant No was a groom-to-be set to marry in October.
Captain Park's eldest son, speaking on behalf of the bereaved family, delivered a farewell message. "I keep thinking of the last time I saw you, Dad," the son said. "Dad, you are my hero and a wonderful man. I'll take good care of Mom and my younger siblings."
Sergeant No's younger sibling also said, "Becoming an adult and over the past 10 years, what I regret most is never having a drink with you," adding, "If we ever meet again, I hope we can slowly share a drink in a cool place without the ravages of fire."
The bereaved families could not hold back tears as they bid the two firefighters their final farewell. Sergeant No's mother wailed for a long time before her son's portrait and weakly swung a chrysanthemum.
Fellow firefighters also offered their final goodbyes to the deceased, who spared no effort to carry out their duties to the end.
Fire Lieutenant Lim Dong-hyun, a colleague of Captain Park, said, "Even at dangerous scenes, he made sacrifices and kept his post while looking after his colleagues," adding, "It is hard to believe we have to send off a colleague who laughed and sweated with us in the same space. The path you walked will remain by our side."
Firefighter First Class Lim Jun-hyeok, a colleague of Sergeant No, also said, "I can't believe the image of my brother in the cold portrait," adding, "When the personnel order came, I should have held you back and gone myself. Please forgive this unworthy younger sibling."
After the funeral, as the deceased were taken to the national cemetery, colleagues offered a final salute. It was a pledge by those remaining to protect the people's lives and safety so that the sacrifice of the deceased would not be in vain.
The government posthumously promoted each by one rank and awarded the Jade Order of Civil Merit.
A Chinese national in his 30s who is in the country illegally underwent a pretrial detention hearing that day on suspicion of causing the warehouse fire by using an open flame while removing paint. A decision on whether to issue an arrest warrant was expected in the afternoon.