The first person to report the fatal fire at Eunma Apartment in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul on December 24 was the teenage girl who died in the incident, according to newly released emergency call transcripts.
According to transcripts submitted to Rep. Yang Bu-nam of the Democratic Party of Korea by the National Fire Agency, the first call was received at 6:18 a.m. on December 24. The caller, believed to be 17-year-old Kim, said "There's a fire right now" and identified the location as "Eunma Apartment."
When firefighters asked for the specific building and unit number, Kim responded in extreme distress: "Which building is it, what do I do. What if I die. I can't breathe, what do I do."
The transcripts indicate Kim was unable to escape and waited for rescue near a window while continuing the call. When asked how many people were in the home, she answered "three" and pleaded, "I think one or two got out. Please come quickly."
Around 6:20 a.m., family members made additional calls to 119, saying "What about my sister" and "My daughter is in there." The recording also captured someone asking, "Where did my sister go, why isn't she coming out?"
The fire detector inside the unit is believed to have malfunctioned. According to the National Fire Agency's incident report, only the manual call point and emergency broadcast system activated.
Fire authorities believe the blaze originated near the kitchen floor and are investigating the exact cause. Police have sent lighting fixtures and other electrical equipment collected from the scene to the National Forensic Service for analysis.
The fire completely destroyed one unit on the 8th floor, including household belongings, and partially burned a balcony on the 9th floor. Property damage is estimated at approximately 77.36 million won ($53,000), including 33.76 million won in real estate and 43.6 million won in personal property.
Eunma Apartment, a landmark complex completed in 1979, has no sprinkler system installed. Because construction began before the 1992 fire code mandating sprinklers in multi-unit residential buildings, the requirement does not apply retroactively. Critics have long pointed to this regulatory gap as a structural limitation in fire safety for aging apartment complexes.