Fires Occur Consecutively at POSCO and Hyundai Steel... "Investigating Typhoon Connection"

On the 6th, flames were seen due to by-product gas venting at the POSCO Pohang Steelworks factory in Nam-gu, Pohang-si, Gyeongbuk. POSCO stated that although a fire occurred at the factory within the Pohang Steelworks on that day, it was not directly related to the by-product gas flames.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] Fires broke out one after another on the 6th at steel mills of Korea's leading steel companies and are currently being extinguished.

According to POSCO and the fire authorities, around 7:30 a.m. on the same day, fires broke out at two locations within POSCO Pohang Steelworks in Nam-gu, Pohang City: the Stainless Steel (STS) No. 2 Steelmaking Plant and the No. 2 Hot Rolling Mill. Among these, the fire at the No. 2 Hot Rolling Mill was a small fire that occurred in the electrical panel and has been extinguished.

During the firefighting efforts by the Pohang Steelworks' own fire brigade, four firefighters were trapped due to heavy rain but the fire authorities reported that they are in a safe condition.

The company is focusing on extinguishing the fire while also investigating whether the fire is related to the typhoon. As a precaution against the typhoon, the company had stopped operating equipment and carried out so-called venting operations by burning by-product gas.

A company official stated, "The flames seen in videos and photos shared online are from burning coke oven gas (COG) for venting and are not a fire," adding, "they are not directly related to this factory fire."

Earlier, POSCO announced that in response to the forecast that Typhoon Hinnamnor would pass through Pohang on the 5th, it planned to halt operations at all plants, including the blast furnace, on the 6th, when the typhoon's impact was expected to be greatest.

On the morning of the 6th, a large fire broke out at the energy storage system (ESS) inside the Hyundai Steel factory in Dong-gu, Incheon. Fire authorities have issued a 'Level 2 Response' and are conducting firefighting operations. [Image source=Yonhap News]

A fire also broke out at Hyundai Steel's plant in Incheon, prompting the fire authorities to issue an alert and begin firefighting efforts.

According to the Incheon Fire Headquarters and Hyundai Steel, a fire occurred around 6:33 a.m. at the Energy Storage System (ESS) within Hyundai Steel's plant in Dong-gu, Incheon.

There have been no casualties so far, but black smoke rose along with the flames, leading to multiple 119 emergency calls. The energy storage system charges batteries with electricity at night and uses them during the day.

A Hyundai Steel official said, "The owner of the energy storage system is a certain bank, and Hyundai Steel borrows some of the energy. The cause of the fire needs to be confirmed after extinguishing. It is expected that operations will not be disrupted."

The fire authorities issued a 'Response Level 2' alert around 7:24 a.m., about 50 minutes after the fire broke out, and are conducting firefighting operations. Response Level 2 is an alert that mobilizes personnel and equipment from 5 to 6 nearby fire stations.

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