[Gyeonggi Province Fire and Disaster Headquarters]
[Gyeonggi Province Fire and Disaster Headquarters]

A large fire at a hazardous materials storage warehouse in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province was brought under control roughly five hours after it broke out, following an all-out response by fire authorities. More than 1.91 million liters of flammable chemicals were stored inside the warehouse, but no casualties have been confirmed.

The Gyeonggi Province Fire and Disaster Headquarters said Tuesday it had downgraded its response level from Level 2 to Level 1 at 5:16 a.m., after determining that the main blaze had been contained. The warehouse, a special logistics center, is located in Tojin-ri, Cheongbuk-eup, Pyeongtaek.

The fire was first reported at 12:03 a.m. Tuesday through an automatic fire alarm system installed at the warehouse. After arriving at the scene, fire authorities determined there was a high risk of the fire spreading and issued a Level 1 response at 1:32 a.m. As the flames spread rapidly, they escalated to Level 2 at 2:40 a.m.

As the fire grew, a national fire mobilization order was issued at 3:39 a.m. Twenty-six pieces of equipment — including water tankers and chemical fire trucks — were dispatched from four neighboring cities and provinces: South Chungcheong Province, Sejong, North Chungcheong Province and Daejeon.

A national fire mobilization order is the highest level of wide-area support, issued by the National Fire Agency commissioner when a local fire department cannot handle a disaster on its own and national-level reinforcement is deemed necessary.

Minister of Interior and Safety Yun Ho-jung directed relevant agencies — including the National Fire Agency, local governments and the Korean National Police Agency — to "mobilize all available firefighting resources and equipment to do their utmost in suppressing the fire and searching for any victims."

Fire authorities deployed 95 pieces of equipment and 238 personnel, including assets from other regions, to fight the blaze. The response level was lowered once the main fire was contained. However, the national fire mobilization order remains in effect given the possibility of reignition during mop-up operations.

The warehouse is a single-story building with a total floor area of 937 square meters, identified as a special logistics center storing approximately 1.91 million liters of Class 4 hazardous materials and general chemicals. Class 4 hazardous materials include highly flammable liquids such as special flammables, petroleum products and alcohols.

The facility was equipped to store secondary battery materials and finished products, though it has not yet been confirmed whether such materials were present at the time of the fire.

Immediately after the fire broke out, Pyeongtaek city sent an emergency alert advising residents to close their windows, refrain from going outside and reroute their vehicles.

Fire authorities plan to investigate the exact cause of the fire and the extent of the damage after all residual flames have been extinguished.


rainbow@heraldcorp.com