Apartment Building, Residential

Gwinnett, GA – Apartment sprinkler system puts out intentionally-set fire before fire department arrives

A Duluth woman is in jail after officials said she intentionally set her bed on fire in what is believed to be a domestic-related incident, fire officials said.

Eunok Yu, 38, was found lying “intoxicated” in the middle of Satellite Boulevard by a Gwinnett County battalion chief during the investigation, fire Capt. Tommy Rutledge said. She had soot on her clothes and hands.

Yu was booked into the Gwinnett County jail on a pedestrian under the influence in the roadway charge. She was later charged with first degree arson once investigators discovered she’d set her bed on fire, Rutledge said. She also has an Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold.

Authorities arrived to the Bridgewater Apartments in the 1500 block of Ridge Brook Trail about 11:20 a.m. Thursday after a call about an apartment fire in Building 400. No one was inside the unit at the time of the fire.

The sprinkler system put out the fire by the time authorities arrived, Rutledge said.

Officials were asked to remain on the scene due to the suspicious nature of the blaze.That’s when fire officials found Yu in the middle of the street and arrested her near the apartment complex. Police later determined Yu lived at the apartment with her husband, who was not home when she allegedly set the fire.

Yu admitted she set the same bed on fire in the same apartment a month ago, but Rutledge said fire investigators found no record of responding to the incident. They are investigating the claims.