Authorities have launched a full-scale investigation into the cause of the fire at a Coupang Inc. logistics center in Incheon, with a forensic inspection set to focus on the sixth floor of Building B — believed to be where the blaze first broke out.
The Incheon Fire Department said Monday that the fire at Coupang Inc.'s No. 32 logistics center in Seoknam-dong, Seohaegu, was brought under initial control at 8 p.m. that day — 61 hours after it broke out at around 6:54 a.m. on Saturday.
Fire crews continued mopping up residual flames ahead of a full extinguishment declaration. At the same time, authorities are preparing a joint forensic inspection with police and other relevant agencies to determine the cause of the fire. The inspection is expected to involve the Incheon Fire Department's fire investigation team, the West Incheon Fire Station, the National Forensic Service, the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency's scientific investigation unit and the Korea Electric Safety Corp.
The joint inspection team will proceed once investigators determine it is safe to enter the building, centering on the sixth floor of Building B, where the fire is believed to have originated. Investigators will also work to secure evidence that could shed light on how the fire spread, including footage from closed-circuit television cameras inside the warehouse and data from fire alarm receivers.
Police are also moving quickly on their investigation. The Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency has formed a dedicated task force — the "Seoknam-dong Coupang Logistics Center Fire Investigation Team" — drawing personnel from its wide-area crime investigation unit and serious accident investigation unit. The team plans to draw on lessons from the June 2021 fire at Coupang Inc.'s Deokpyeong logistics center in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province.
In that case, police found that workers in the Deokpyeong center's fire-control room had switched off fire alarms six times, delaying the initial response. Charges were brought under the Act on Fire Prevention and Installation, Maintenance and Safety Control of Fire-Fighting Systems. Three people — a fire safety manager and employees from the facility management subcontractor — were subsequently tried and received suspended sentences of one year in prison with a two-year probation, a ruling upheld on appeal.
The Incheon warehouse where the fire broke out is an eight-story above-ground structure with a total floor area of 299,000 square meters, making it one of the three largest Coupang Inc. logistics centers in the country. A total of 121 warehouse workers and staff evacuated when the fire first broke out, but two firefighters were taken to hospital during the suppression operation after inhaling smoke and suffering exhaustion.
soho0902@heraldcorp.com
