Fire at Ajou University Hospital basement restaurant prompts evacuation of about 1,500

A fire broke out Monday at a restaurant on the first below-ground floor of the main building of Ajou University Hospital in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, prompting about 1,500 people to evacuate on their own. No casualties have been reported, and the main blaze was brought under control in about an hour and 20 minutes.

The fire started at around 4:32 p.m. Monday at the restaurant on the first below-ground floor of the hospital's main building, according to Yonhap. The main flames were extinguished about an hour and 20 minutes later.

About 1,500 people evacuated on their own, including roughly 120 who were on the first below-ground floor when the fire broke out. No casualties were reported.

Fire department authorities deployed 111 personnel, including firefighters, and 40 pieces of equipment, including pump trucks, to fight the blaze. They brought the main flames under control at 5:57 p.m. and are continuing to extinguish remaining embers.

Police are looking into the possibility that the fire started in a ventilation duct inside the store where the blaze originated.

All floors of the main building except the first below-ground floor, where the fire broke out, have been reopened to foot traffic.

"At the early stage of the fire, most people in the main building evacuated, with the exception of patients with limited mobility," a police official said. "As the flames were confirmed to be largely under control, patients returned to their floors in sequence."