The outer wall of the tower-type facility was charred black, and parts of the wall that could not withstand the impact of the explosion were blown away. This is the Daewon Industrial factory in Cheonan, where an explosion and fire on August 28 left three workers dead and two others, including a firefighter, injured.
Related agencies, including police, the National Forensic Service, fire authorities, and the Ministry of Employment and Labor, launched an additional joint inspection today to uncover the cause of the fire.
During the initial inspection conducted on August 31, authorities generally assessed the fire damage across the factory and the path through which the flames spread.
However, due to rain at the time, there were limitations in conducting a detailed investigation of the 9th-floor facility, which was confirmed to have suffered the most severe fire damage.
Consequently, this additional inspection focused primarily on the 9th-floor facility where the fire damage was concentrated.
Police secured statements from on-site officials indicating that the fire broke out while they were inspecting a valve, and intensively examined the valves and surrounding piping installed on the 9th floor.
They are also checking whether there are any unusual points to determine the cause of the fire in the combustion state inside the equipment and the substances remaining in the pipes.
Based on the statements from officials secured so far and the state of damage at the scene, police view it as highly probable that the fire started on the 9th floor.
[Nam Hyun-woo, Head of the Scientific Investigation Unit at the Chungnam Provincial Police Agency: Considering the combustion patterns and other factors, we believe that the 9th floor is likely presumed to be the origin of the fire. As it is a factory that manufactures fatty acids, there is a possibility that a fire could have ignited from that part...]
However, the exact ignition point and the cause of the fire will be finalized following the analysis results from the National Forensic Service and additional investigations.
It was investigated that fires also occurred at this factory in 2024 and last year, but it was excluded from fire safety inspections because it did not meet the standard size criteria for fire inspections.
In addition, since the building register lists it as a two-story structure, police plan to look into whether the building was illegally expanded and whether necessary safety measures were properly implemented at the time of the fire.
(Reported by Hong Seung-yeon | Video by Kim Min-chul | Video Editing by Choi Hye-young | Produced by SBS Digital News)
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.