Fire leaves 91 households, 127 people in need of relief; temporary shelters open at Gaepo Middle School and Guryong Middle School
On-site medical team and emergency operations center activated; district coordinates housing support with SH
Gangnam-gu has opened temporary shelters and an on-site emergency operations center and launched medical and relief services after a fire at Guryong Village on Tuesday left 91 households and 127 people in need of assistance.
The district plans to work with the Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation (SH) and other relevant agencies to stabilize the daily lives of displaced residents and provide follow-up support.
District Mayor Kim Hyun-gi arrived at the scene on the day of the fire to personally oversee the response. A total of 310 district office staff were deployed to the site, supported by 27 pieces of district equipment. The district assisted with resident evacuation, set up temporary shelters at Gaepo Middle School and Guryong Middle School, and secured additional temporary accommodation including hotel rooms.
Kim visited the temporary shelter at Gaepo Middle School on Wednesday to hear directly from displaced residents about their needs and to check on the provision of relief supplies, meals and medical support.
As of 1 p.m. Thursday, 70 households comprising 111 people were staying at the two school shelters and temporary lodgings. The district is supplying relief goods, daily necessities and meals, and has deployed a public health center medical team on site to provide health consultations, emergency first aid and hospital transfers when needed. An on-site operations center has been established at Guryong Village to address residents' concerns immediately.
On housing, the district is working closely with the Seoul Metropolitan Government and SH, the developer overseeing the Guryong Village urban development project. On Tuesday, SH secured 96 units of emergency temporary housing for displaced residents and 213 rental units for longer-term use during the development period. The district plans to guide residents through the relevant procedures and help them relocate to safe housing as quickly as possible.
The district also plans to request that the Ministry of Interior and Safety designate the fire-affected area a special disaster zone. Electricity and water supply will be restored on an emergency basis in areas not completely destroyed by the fire. On-site staff will conduct safety patrols at least twice daily, and consolation payments will be provided to residents who lost their homes.
"We will carefully manage emergency relief and on-site safety to minimize hardship for residents who have lost their homes and livelihoods in this sudden fire," Kim said. "We will work closely with the Seoul Metropolitan Government, SH and other relevant agencies to ensure that the support our displaced residents need is delivered swiftly and without fail."
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