Over 200 resident calls to emergency services; 22 vehicles, 59 firefighters deployed

Crews removing scrap metal piece by piece; full containment timeline unclear

Reference image not related to the article. [Getty Images Bank]
Reference image not related to the article. [Getty Images Bank]

A fire at a scrap metal warehouse inside a steel factory in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, has burned for more than a day with no end in sight, as flames continue to spread through massive piles of scrap metal stored inside.

According to the Changwon Fire Department, the fire broke out at around 6:55 p.m. Saturday at a warehouse within a steel factory in Seongsan-gu, Changwon.

The warehouse, a standard steel-frame structure, is estimated to have held about 20,000 tons of scrap metal. Smoke and the smell of burning spread to surrounding neighborhoods after the blaze broke out, prompting more than 200 calls to emergency services — mostly from apartment residents in the area.

Firefighting authorities have deployed 22 vehicles, including high-capacity water pump trucks and chemical fire trucks, along with 59 personnel to battle the blaze.

However, the fire has continued to spread through the scrap metal piles, making full containment difficult. Crews have been using claw vehicles to move scrap metal out of the warehouse before extinguishing the flames.

With the sheer volume of metal involved, firefighting operations were still ongoing as of 7 p.m. Sunday — more than 24 hours after the fire began.

"It looks like we will have to work through another night," a Changwon Fire Department official said. "It is difficult to predict when we will be able to fully extinguish the fire."

No casualties have been reported so far. Authorities plan to investigate the exact cause of the fire and assess the full extent of the damage once the blaze is brought under control.


brunch@heraldcorp.com