Repeated Warnings of Fire Risk at Icheon Logistics Warehouse Construction Site... Another Possible 'Human-Caused Disaster'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy (Icheon) = Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The Ministry of Employment and Labor reportedly issued multiple warnings about fire hazards and demanded improvements at the site of the new logistics warehouse construction in Icheon, where a large-scale casualty incident occurred.

According to the Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, on the 30th, the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA) reviewed and confirmed the hazardous risk prevention plan submitted by the logistics warehouse construction company and judged that there was a fire risk, repeatedly requesting improvements.

KOSHA pointed out issues in the hazardous risk prevention plan through two document reviews and four on-site inspections. The hazardous risk prevention plan is a document prepared to prevent safety accidents caused by hazardous substances or risk factors that may occur during construction work. It is suggested that the company’s failure to comply with the improvement requests for the hazardous risk prevention plan may have contributed to the escalation of the fire.

The cause of the fire is attributed to the generation of flammable vapors due to additives such as blowing agents in the urethane foam, and ignition sources provided by simultaneous work by two or more teams. The construction company is presumed to have been negligent in implementing preventive measures related to these issues.

Additionally, 78 workers from nine companies were working simultaneously from the basement level 2 to the 4th floor above ground, but the emergency response system, including situation propagation, did not function properly, leading to the deaths of workers on the upper floors due to the fire that started on basement level 2.

Previously, the 2008 Icheon cold storage fire, which resulted in 40 deaths, was also investigated to have increased risk factors by conducting hazardous tasks simultaneously to shorten the construction period (electrical installation work and gas charging work in areas scattered with hazardous materials). Furthermore, many workers were finishing construction work without secured evacuation routes, which escalated into a large-scale casualty incident.

The logistics warehouse where the fire occurred began construction on April 23 of last year and was scheduled for completion on June 30, with a progress rate of 85% at the time.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.