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The fire had quickly spread to other parts of the building, including the residential third and fourth floors. A 30-year-old Nigerian woman and her three children, two young girls and a one-year-old boy, who lived on the fourth floor, had evacuated to the veranda in order to avoid the spreading fire.
When a citizen below saw that the woman and her children were trapped, s/he immediately came to their rescue by bringing out a large blanket and telling the family to jump one by one onto the blanket.
The woman hesitated a bit but soon dropped down after sending her children down first. Aside from smoke inhalation and a minor injury the woman sustained from jumping from the building, police relayed that the family was safe and sound.
Another resident, a 51-year-old American soldier, had attempted to save himself by escaping the building using a water hose. Unfortunately, the man lost his grip and fell from the second floor, resulting in a leg injury.
The building owner, an 80-year-old woman identified by her surname Yoon, was rescued by the fire fighters who arrived at the scene after receiving the report. Yoon is said to be receiving treatment for smoke inhalation.
The fire was extinguished in around 30 minutes, and local fire authorities are looking into the exact cause of the fire and investigating the extent of the damage.
The head detective of Pyeongtaek Police Station said, "We don't know the identity of the citizen who used a blanket to rescue the woman and her children. We want to thank all the citizens for using their quick wits to come together to save precious lives in such a precarious situation."
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