The fire at the Kumho Tire factory in Gwangju reached an 80% extinguishing rate on the second day of the incident.
On the morning of the 18th, Kim Kwan-ho, head of the Gwangju Gwangsan Fire Station, conducted a media briefing at the site in Gwangsan District, Gwangju, stating, "As of (9 a.m. on that day), it appears that about 80% has been extinguished," and added, "We aim to raise the extinguishing rate to over 90% by the morning."
He further noted, "Currently, we are destroying parts of the building that caught fire and executing operations to inject large amounts of water inside using large waterproof tarps and high-performance chemical trucks," and stated, "As the work progresses, the extinguishing rate is expected to rise."
Earlier, a downward adjustment of the response level under the national firefighting mobilization order was anticipated; however, Kim indicated that the downward adjustment would be put on hold due to a significant mobilization of special equipment from across the nation.
Kim explained, "The conditions for a downward adjustment in fire response are in place; however, significant smoke is still being produced, and we will mobilize as much equipment and personnel as possible to maximize the extinguishing rate in a short period of time."
The fire broke out at around 7:11 a.m. the previous day during the refining process in the second plant of Kumho Tire, and it is currently estimated that 50% to 60% of the second plant has burned.
Fire authorities tentatively identified that the fire started from sparks flying from an industrial oven used to preheat raw rubber.
The Gwangsan District evacuated 176 residents (96 households) from four nearby apartment complexes that were directly affected by black smoke and dust to the gymnasium of Gwangju Women's University.
Kumho Tire has fully suspended production at the Gwangju factory until the incident is resolved and plans to assess the exact scale of the damage in cooperation with fire authorities.