Coupang Logistics Center Fire Continues for Third Day... Safety Inspection Begins Today

Major flames contained... Full extinguishment may take time
Decision on resuming search for missing firefighters to be made based on diagnosis results

On the 18th, firefighters continued extinguishing efforts for the second day at the Coupang Deokpyeong Logistics Center fire site in Majang-myeon, Icheon-si, Gyeonggi-do. / Icheon = Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The fire at the Coupang Deokpyeong Logistics Center in Icheon-si, Gyeonggi Province, has continued for three days. Fire authorities are conducting a safety inspection of the building and plan to decide whether to resume the search for the missing firefighter.

On the 19th, at the scene of the Coupang Deokpyeong Logistics Center fire in Majang-myeon, Icheon-si, the large flames have been extinguished, but gray smoke is still coming out. It is expected to take more time for complete extinguishment. The interior of the building has a maze-like structure, and the stacked cargo makes it difficult to rule out the possibility of remaining smoldering fires.

The building's internal cargo amounts to 16.2 million items, totaling about 53,000 cubic meters in volume. Especially, there are many combustible materials such as paper boxes, vinyl, and stickers, which made it difficult to control the flames. The building's framework has also been exposed to fire for a long time, raising the risk of collapse. It has been reported that part of the floor on the second floor has bent and collapsed.

Moreover, due to the prolonged exposure of the building's framework to intense flames, the possibility of collapse is high, making it impossible for firefighters to enter the interior. It has already been reported that part of the floor on the second floor has bent and collapsed.

The fire authorities plan to conduct a safety inspection of the building today. Experts including Gyeonggi Province safety special inspectors and officials from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will be deployed to perform the safety inspection, and based on the results, they will decide whether to enter the building. If entry is possible, they will also decide when to resume the search for Fire Captain Kim Dong-sik (52) of the Gwangju Fire Station 119 Rescue Team, who went missing after entering the building on the day the fire broke out.

For this reason, the fire authorities aim to conduct the safety inspection of the building today.

Experts including Gyeonggi Province safety special inspectors and Ministry of Land officials will be deployed to conduct the safety inspection, and based on the results, they will decide on firefighting operations inside the building and the timing to resume the search for Fire Captain Kim Dong-sik (52) of the Gwangju Fire Station 119 Rescue Team, who went missing after entering the building on the day the fire broke out.

The fire started around 5:36 a.m. on the 17th in the basement level 2 of a logistics center building with 4 floors above ground and a total floor area of 127,178.58 square meters. The fire authorities issued a Level 2 response and managed to control the large flames by 8:19 a.m., about 2 hours and 40 minutes later. However, from around 11:50 a.m., flames began to flare up again inside. After the Level 2 response was reissued at 12:14 p.m., the situation has continued. The 248 employees and others inside the building evacuated in advance, avoiding casualties.

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