By Shereen Siewert | Wausau Pilot & Review
Myong Hui Kim, 61, faces arson charges filed April 6 in Marathon County Circuit Court. Police and fire officials say Kim started at least two fires in the unit as a way of “ending it all.” The fire was reported March 21 at Riverview Towers 500 Grand Ave., Wausau.
Kim, who lived at Riverview Towers at the time of the fire, allegedly denied trying to harm her neighbors in the complex, but investigators say she lit paper on fire, walked the burning paper over to the pantry area and held the paper to a curtain to start the fire. A second fire was set in the bedroom closet.
Fire crews were called to the complex for a report of a blaze in a seventh-floor apartment. A man who was first on scene entered Kim’s apartment after seeing a glow inside the crack of the door and used a fire extinguisher before pulling Kim from beneath the covers in her bedroom.
The apartment was equipped with a sprinkler system that turned on after the fire began to spread.
“This was a reckless and uncontrolled behavior with no backup or safety plan if the burn were to get out of control in this very populated building,” the reporting officer wrote.
Kim was taken for mental health treatment.
During a competency hearing Nov. 17, Circuit Judge Greg Strasser reviewed a psychologist’s report and declared Kim not competent at this time. Online court records indicate that Kim’ medical provider believes her condition is likely to improve in the future.
Kim’s next court date is Feb. 13, a pretrial conference.
