201 firefighters, high-capacity water cannons deployed

Firefighters from the Ulsan Fire Headquarters battle a blaze at a chemical products manufacturer in the Onsan Industrial Complex in Ulsan on Wednesday, using high-capacity water cannons that discharge water and fire-suppression solution simultaneously. [Ulsan Fire Headquarters]
Firefighters from the Ulsan Fire Headquarters battle a blaze at a chemical products manufacturer in the Onsan Industrial Complex in Ulsan on Wednesday, using high-capacity water cannons that discharge water and fire-suppression solution simultaneously. [Ulsan Fire Headquarters]

A fire at a chemical products manufacturer in the Onsan Industrial Complex in Haknam-ri, Onsan-eup, Ulju-gun, Ulsan, was extinguished Wednesday with no casualties reported.

The Ulsan Fire Headquarters said the blaze of unknown origin broke out at the facility at around 9:41 a.m., prompting the deployment of 201 firefighters, three helicopters and other equipment. The fire was fully extinguished at around 1:50 p.m., four hours and 10 minutes after it started.

The fire originated at the company's outdoor storage tanks, all seven of which were completely destroyed. The tanks had contained flammable Class 4 hazardous liquids: 48,000 liters of thinner, 28,000 liters of toluene, 32,000 liters of acetone and 32,000 liters of xylene.

To prevent secondary damage such as explosions, fire authorities deployed high-capacity water cannons capable of discharging up to 45,000 liters of water per minute — 20 times the output of a standard fire truck — drawing seawater to fight the blaze.

After the fire broke out, authorities issued a Level 1 response at around 10:04 a.m. and a national fire mobilization order at around 10:17 a.m. All 12 people at the site — including office staff and on-site workers — evacuated safely, and no injuries were reported.

As a precaution, some 7,000 workers and employees at nearby workplaces also evacuated, including those at the S-OIL Shaheen Project Package 1 site, a large-scale petrochemical complex under construction near the facility.

Fire authorities plan to question company officials to determine the exact cause of the fire and assess the extent of the damage.


cityblue@heraldcorp.com