Gangnam’s Guryong Village fire: Major blaze contained after six hours... more than 100 displaced (Roundup)

[Financial News] A major fire broke out in Guryong Village in Gaepo-dong, known as Gangnam District’s “last shantytown,” and the main blaze was brought under control after about six hours. More than 100 people were displaced by the fire and moved to temporary shelters.
Fire officials said the fire started around 3:50 p.m. on the 27th in a temporary structure in District 2 of Guryong Village. Fanned by strong winds, it spread to nearby Districts 1, 3 and 7 and as far as the foothills of Guryongsan. The area is densely packed with shacks built from highly flammable materials such as “tteoksom” (insulating cotton), plastic sheeting and plywood, and the shortage of nearby firefighting water supplies made it extremely difficult to contain the fire in its early stages.
Fire officials issued a Level 1 response at 3:59 p.m., shortly after the fire broke out, and raised it to Level 2 at 4:29 p.m. as the fire spread rapidly. About 940 personnel from relevant agencies, including firefighters, police and the district office, along with about 140 pieces of equipment and six fire helicopters, were deployed to establish defensive lines and contain the spread. A national fire mobilization order was also issued at 5:47 p.m.
After an all-out response slowed the spread of the flames, fire officials downgraded the response level to Level 1 at 10:05 p.m. Kim Hyeon-seok, chief of the Fire Administration Division at Gangnam Fire Station, said at a 11:15 p.m. briefing, “The main blaze is currently under control, and we are putting out the remaining hotspots,” adding, “Once the situation is resolved, we plan to declare the fire fully extinguished.”
One woman in her 30s who lives in District 7 suffered a minor leg injury in the fire and was taken to hospital, while 39 residents evacuated on their own. The damage assessed so far covers a burned area of about 190,000 square meters, and a total of 107 people from 77 households have been displaced.
Gangnam District Office, which has jurisdiction over the area, set up emergency shelters in the gyms of nearby Gaepo Middle School and Guryong Middle School. At present, 33 people from 24 households are staying at Gaepo Middle School, and five people have been moved to a nearby hotel. The remaining residents are understood to be waiting near the village.
Police and fire officials plan to investigate the exact cause of the fire and the extent of property damage through a joint investigation once they have completely extinguished the remaining hotspots. A fire official said of the possibility of arson, “Nothing has been confirmed so far.”
Meanwhile, Guryong Village, an unlicensed shantytown established to house people displaced by demolitions, is highly vulnerable to major fires, with old electrical wires and LP gas cylinders haphazardly tangled throughout the area. Fires occur frequently; on Jan. 16, a major blaze also broke out in District 4, prompting about 250 residents to evacuate.


[email protected] Park Ji-hyun Reporter