The Eunma Apartment complex in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, where a recent fire killed four people and injured others, had no sprinkler system installed, authorities confirmed. The incident has reignited concerns over fire safety blind spots in aging residential buildings, as data shows all 116 housing fire deaths in Seoul over the past five years occurred in homes without sprinklers.
According to the Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters on the 25th, the fire claimed the life of a 16-year-old girl identified as "A" while her mother in her 40s and teenage sister sustained facial burns and smoke inhalation injuries. The victim had reportedly moved into the apartment just five days before the fire, ahead of starting high school. Daechi-dong is known as Seoul's premier education district, attracting families seeking top schools, and the girl had dreamed of attending medical school.
Eunma Apartment, completed in 1979, is a representative aging housing complex. Construction began before the 1992 Fire Services Act mandated sprinkler installation in multi-unit residential buildings, and the regulation does not apply retroactively. Critics have long pointed to structural limitations in fire safety equipment at such complexes.
Statistics support these concerns. The Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters reported 10,602 housing fires in Seoul over the past five years, resulting in 116 deaths—all in residences without sprinklers. Many aging apartments and multi-family housing units remain in this regulatory blind spot.
Similar tragedies have continued recently. On the morning of the 13th, a fire at an apartment in Haeundae-gu, Busan killed two siblings in their 70s. That building, completed in 1985, was also over 40 years old and lacked sprinklers.
Amid these circumstances, "automatic dispersion fire extinguishers" are gaining attention as an alternative. These devices automatically spray fire suppressant upon detecting flames or temperatures above a certain threshold and are considered a practical supplement for existing homes where sprinkler installation is difficult. Seoul Fire officials said recent experiments in environments similar to non-sprinklered housing confirmed the devices effectively suppress fire spread when activated in early stages.
The Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters plans to propose new regulations for "residential automatic dispersion fire extinguishers" to the National Fire Agency based on experimental results and will review distribution plans focusing on vulnerable populations, including elderly residents living alone.