"Dad, I miss you. Let's be sure to meet again later. By then I'll probably be a grown-up."
A letter written by the young daughter of the late Kim Jin-seok, a fire lieutenant who died in the line of duty while fighting a factory fire in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, has been made public.
Song Young-gil, a lawmaker of the Democratic Party of Korea representing Yeonsu-A in Incheon, posted the letter on social media on the 18th. Kim's daughter is set to start elementary school next year.
The letter began with "To my dad, whom I miss." "You passed away yesterday, but I still miss you so much. We are at the funeral hall now," she wrote. "I know it. I know you loved me the most," she added. "Dad, I miss you. Let's be sure to meet again later. By then I'll probably be a grown-up." She closed the letter: "I love you. Dad, I miss you. I love you." Next to the text was a drawing of a fire engine with the word "dispatch."
Song said on social media after paying his respects that he was moved to tears by the portrait of the deceased and the letter from his 6-year-old daughter placed in front of it. He vowed to do everything he can to prevent the tragedy of a firefighter's goodbye on the way to work becoming a final farewell.
The fire broke out at about 8:38 a.m. on the 16th at a metal-parts painting factory in Nae-dong, Ojeong-gu, Bucheon. Kim was among the first responders at the scene and entered the building, but the flames spread rapidly and he was trapped inside the factory. He was found in cardiac arrest and taken to a hospital, where he died.
According to his family, Kim, who had been married for eight years, had been preparing to move soon to an apartment in Gyeonggi Province to start a new home with his wife and his daughter, who is due to enter elementary school next year.
The fire at the factory in Nae-dong, Ojeong-gu, Bucheon, on the 16th killed Kim and critically injured another firefighter in his 40s. Four other firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion and two factory workers for smoke inhalation, bringing the total number of people injured to eight.
The government posthumously promoted Kim one rank, from fire sergeant to fire lieutenant, and awarded him the Okjo Order of Service Merit. It also plans to support his burial at a national cemetery. A funeral altar was set up at the funeral hall of Soonchunhyang University Hospital Bucheon.