Couple injured in early-morning apartment fire sparked during domestic dispute in Incheon

A fire that broke out in an Incheon apartment in the early hours of Sunday was sparked by a domestic dispute, leaving both husband and wife with second-degree burns.

According to the Incheon Fire Department and Yonhap, the blaze broke out around 2:40 a.m. Sunday on the 11th floor of an apartment building in Jakjeon-dong, Gyeyang-gu, Incheon.

The couple — a man in his 50s identified only as A and his wife, also in her 50s — suffered second-degree burns to their legs. About 40 other residents evacuated on their own.

Fire authorities initially told reporters that nine people had been injured, including the couple, but later issued a correction citing an error in the notification process and revised the figure to two.

Firefighters deployed 56 personnel and 24 pieces of equipment after receiving a report of a fire in one of the buildings, and extinguished the blaze at around 2:59 a.m. — 19 minutes after it started.

Police believe A opened a gas valve and ignited it with a lighter during an argument with his wife, causing a gas explosion that shattered windows and started the fire. He was arrested on charges of arson causing bodily injury.

A told investigators he had only been trying to light a cigarette and had no intention of starting a fire, according to police.

Police and fire authorities are continuing to investigate the exact cause of the blaze.