Neighbor Admits Causing Osan Apartment Fire

A woman in her 30s died in Osan, South Korea, after a blaze began around 5:35 a.m. when a neighbor in her 20s used a lighter and aerosol spray as a makeshift flamethrower to kill a cockroach, igniting a bed and piles of rubbish. The mother handed her two-month-old baby to neighbors but fell while trying to follow her husband and later died in hospital; eight other residents were treated for smoke inhalation. The fire filled stairways with smoke and forced residents to escape through windows; firefighters extinguished the blaze in about 40 minutes. The neighbor has admitted using the improvised method and told officials she learned it from online videos; authorities plan to seek an arrest warrant and may charge her with accidental arson and death by negligence. Investigators are also examining whether building materials, accumulated rubbish or safety-code issues contributed to the rapid spread.