Firefighting Efforts Struggle Despite National Mobilization Order; What Is Happening on the 6th Floor of the Coupang Center?

[Anchor]

A large fire broke out at a Coupang logistics center in Incheon this morning, July 18. Fire authorities have issued a national firefighting mobilization order and are conducting suppression operations, but the fire has yet to be extinguished. We have our reporter on the scene.

Lee Hyun-jung, there is a lot of smoke behind you. What is the current situation?

[Reporter]

Yes, the fire, which began on the 6th floor of this Incheon Coupang logistics center, has been burning for over 13 hours.

Black smoke is still billowing out of the windows.

While all 121 employees at the logistics center evacuated safely, resulting in no casualties, one firefighter was treated at a hospital after inhaling smoke.

Fire authorities, who were dispatched after receiving a report around 6:54 a.m. today, immediately began firefighting efforts, but the flames have been difficult to contain.

The response level was upgraded from Level 1 to Level 2 at approximately 12:25 p.m., and a national firefighting mobilization order was issued at 3:15 p.m.

Since then, 480 personnel, including firefighters, and 169 pieces of equipment, such as high-altitude ladder trucks and unmanned firefighting robots from five cities and provinces including Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Chungcheong, have been mobilized and are currently working to extinguish the blaze.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.

[Anchor]

Why is it taking so long to extinguish the fire?

[Reporter]

The 6th floor of the logistics center, where the fire started, is as large as 15 soccer fields and is structured with three-tiered shelves stacked with flammable household goods.

[Voice] Jeon Jae-in / Incheon Seo-bu Fire Station 119 Disaster Response Division Chief: Due to the high heat and the vast size of the building interior, we are currently conducting suppression operations by spraying water from the 6th-floor hallway.

Fire authorities explain that the thick smoke makes it difficult to secure visibility, and the high heat has caused the flames to spread along the exterior wall to the 7th floor, making suppression difficult.

In particular, as there is a large-scale petrochemical plant to the west and an LPG filling station to the east of the logistics center, authorities are focusing on preventing the fire from spreading further.

The Seo-gu District Office in Incheon has advised nearby residents to keep their windows closed and refrain from outdoor activities due to the heavy smoke and dust.

(Video reporting: Lee Byung-ju, Video editing: Park Ji-in)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.