[Anchor]
A fire broke out at Mukho Market in Donghae, Gangwon Province, this morning (August 4). Fortunately, the fire was put out without any casualties, but merchants who were looking forward to the peak summer vacation season are left in despair.
G1 Broadcasting Reporter Mo Jae-sung has the story.
[Reporter]
Smoke begins to rise from a shop early in the morning, and the flames start to spread.
Residents bring fire extinguishers and attempt to put out the fire.
Firefighters spray water, but the flames rapidly spread to the surrounding areas.
The fire broke out at a dried seafood store inside Mukho Market in Donghae at around 6:11 a.m. today.
Fire authorities issued a Level 1 response and completely extinguished the fire in about 2 hours and 40 minutes.
Some merchants were sleeping inside their shops, but fortunately, they evacuated quickly, resulting in no casualties.
The fire completely destroyed 5 stores and partially damaged 2 others.
The cause is presumed to be electrical.
[Affected Merchant: I sleep upstairs here. While I was sleeping, suddenly I heard electrical popping sounds outside. Electrical popping sounds went off 7 to 8 times, sounding like gunshots going 'bang, bang, bang.']
With the sudden fire striking right during the peak vacation season, merchants look utterly devastated.
[Hwang Jung-ah / Affected Merchant: Originally, we aim for the peak season in late July and early August, and sales then account for almost half of the entire year. Now that we cannot do business, I have nowhere to go to vent this suffocating and tearful frustration.]
Traditional markets are structurally vulnerable to fires.
As the heatwave continues, the worries of merchants who witnessed the fire are even greater.
[Kim Jung-hee / Mukho Market Merchant: This kind of incident happened again after 4 years. But we are scared, you know, it keeps happening. People like us were supposed to open our doors today, but all of us had to close them.]
Once the on-site investigation is completed, the city of Donghae plans to review support to help merchants resume operations and strengthen safety management at the market.
(Video by Shin Ik-gyun / G1, Footage provided by Donghae City and Gangwon State Fire Headquarters)
Mo Jae-sung, G1
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