The fire department responded to a fire that broke out at a large logistics center in Bubal-eup, Icheon City, on the 13th, and managed to control the flames after about five hours. Firefighters are currently searching for any potential victims inside the building. When the fire broke out, 178 people who were inside the building evacuated, and fortunately, no casualties have been confirmed so far.
According to the fire department, a report was received at around 10:29 a.m. stating that 'goods on the third floor of the logistics center are on fire.' Firefighters and equipment arrived at the scene seven minutes after the report was made. Subsequently, at 10:36 a.m., authorities issued a first-stage response alert, deeming the situation serious, and upgraded to a second-stage response at 10:44 a.m. The second stage of response is an alert that mobilizes 51 to 80 pieces of equipment from 8 to 14 fire stations.
Authorities downgraded the response to the first stage at 1:16 p.m. The major flames were controlled by 4:04 p.m., and the first-stage response was lifted. This was after 5 hours and 33 minutes since the fire started. A fire department official noted, 'We have currently controlled the major flames and will continue internal searches for victims and extinguishing leftover embers. After the fire is completely extinguished, we will investigate the exact extent of the damage and the cause of the fire.'
The logistics center where the fire occurred is a three-story, one basement floor building with a total floor area of about 80,000 square meters, constructed using precast concrete (PC) methods. Precast concrete involves manufacturing concrete structural elements such as columns, beams, slabs, and walls in a factory and assembling them on-site. The fire is believed to have originated on the third floor. Although the third floor was completely burned, the fire department successfully prevented the flames from spreading to the first and second floors.
The fire department is conducting the firefighting operations with 92 pieces of equipment, including command vehicles, and 270 personnel, including firefighters. High-performance chemical vehicles and unmanned destruction water trucks, as well as special response teams, have also been dispatched.
As of now, there have been no confirmed casualties from this fire. When the fire broke out, 27 people evacuated from the first and second floors, 30 from the third floor, and 121 from the basement level, bringing the total to 178 who self-evacuated. Park Chan-yong, head of the fire prevention division of the Icheon Fire Station, explained, 'The initial reporter effectively guided people to evacuate, and we also advised the reporter to continue guiding evacuations after the 119 call was made,' adding that 'by the time firefighters arrived, most people had already evacuated.'
It is reported that frozen foods are stored in the basement level of the logistics center, while paper products such as toilet paper are on the first and second floors, and everyday items like razors and fans, along with lithium-ion batteries for fans, are stored on the third floor. The building is large, and the presence of potentially fire-prone lithium-ion batteries suggests that it may take more time to completely extinguish the fire.
Currently, the fire department is focusing on conducting searches for victims up to the second floor, where the fire has not spread. Searches will be conducted on the third floor, which is believed to be the ignition point, after confirming with Icheon City safety inspection officials that there are no concerns regarding collapse.