Fire Extinguished at Pohang Steel Plant... Chain of Flames Observed Nearby Due to Gas Burning Work, Unrelated to Fire

Marines and POSCO firefighters are entering the Pohang Steelworks site where a power outage fire occurred due to Typhoon 'Hinnamnor'.
[Image source=Yonhap News, provided by Marine Corps Headquarters]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] The fire that broke out simultaneously at POSCO Pohang Steelworks was completely extinguished after about four hours.

According to the fire authorities and Pohang Steelworks, the fire broke out simultaneously at four locations including the 2nd Hot Rolling Mill, Stainless Steel Plant, Coke Plant, and Technology Research Institute around 7:20 a.m. on the 6th.

It is reported that one building of the electrical room in the 2nd Hot Rolling Mill was completely burned down due to the fire.

When the fire broke out, the fire authorities issued Nationwide Mobilization Order No. 1 and immediately deployed about 190 personnel and 80 pieces of equipment to extinguish the fire, and high-performance chemical fire trucks from nearby Gumi, Chungju, and Yeosu also responded.

During this fire, four firefighters from Pohang Steelworks' own fire brigade were trapped by heavy rain during firefighting operations and had to take refuge on top of a fire truck.

About 20 factory workers were also trapped inside the factory due to flooding but were rescued.

However, the pillars of fire observed outside Pohang Steelworks in the morning were found to be burning byproduct gas generated in the product manufacturing process and were unrelated to the factory fire.

The Pohang Steelworks explained, "Due to a momentary power outage caused by the typhoon, the operation of equipment within the company was halted, and since there was a risk of byproduct gas explosion, so-called 'burn-off operations' were conducted outside."

The sparks generated during the burn-off operations were visible in several places at the steelworks, causing misunderstandings that a large fire had occurred.

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