Seoul Muhak Girls' High School Fire Extinguished... Police to Conduct Joint Inspection on 17th (Comprehensive)

No Casualties or Electric Vehicles Involved

A fire at Muhak Girls' High School in Haengdang-dong, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, on the 15th was extinguished after about two hours. Fortunately, there were no casualties as it coincided with spring break and the weekend.

Yonhap News

According to the fire authorities, a report was received around 1:29 PM that day about a fire at Muhak Girls' High School in Haengdang-dong, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, with black smoke rising.

The building on fire was a four-story annex dining hall with a cafeteria. The first floor was a parking lot, and the 2nd to 4th floors consisted of kitchens and dining areas. Seongdong-gu Office sent a safety advisory text message asking residents and vehicles to detour due to restricted access and to close windows because of heavy smoke.

The fire authorities issued a Level 1 response about 9 minutes after the report, at around 1:38 PM, and controlled the major flames by 3:14 PM, completely extinguishing the fire by 3:50 PM, two hours later. Firefighting efforts involved 108 firefighters and 30 vehicles.

Fortunately, since it was spring break and Saturday, no casualties occurred among students and staff. Part of the dining hall was damaged by the fire, and 9 out of 11 vehicles parked on the first-floor parking lot were completely burned. It was reported that there were no electric vehicles in the parking lot.

The police, investigating the exact cause of the fire, plan to conduct a joint on-site inspection on the morning of the 17th.

A police official stated, "Since the exact location and cause of the fire cannot be determined at this time, we plan to accurately verify the initial fire location and cause by interviewing school officials, reviewing CCTV footage, vehicle owners, and witnesses."