Story highlights Eighteen people remain in critical condition

Recent deadly fires raise questions about the nation's safety standards

Seoul, South Korea (CNN) South Korea's deadliest fire in almost a decade has ripped through a hospital in the city of Miryang, killing at least 37 people and injuring more than 100.

Authorities revised the death toll down from 39 on Friday afternoon, but a Miryang City official warned it could rise as at least 18 patients remained in critical condition.

The fire comes less than a month after a similar tragedy left 29 dead in the city of Jecheon , raising concerns over lax safety standards in the country.

Officials said they were still investigating the cause of Friday's fire, which is believed to have started around 7:20 a.m. local time in the emergency room on the first floor of the 98-bed Sejong Hospital.

Rescue workers remove bodies from a hospital fire on Friday, January 26, in Miryang, South Korea.

Rescue services took three hours to completely extinguish the flames, which engulfed the first two floors of the six-story building in Miryang, which is about 270 kilometers (168 miles) southeast of the capital, Seoul.

Read More