"Household Goods Packed on 3-Tier Shelves"... Why Warehouse Fires Turn Into Major Disasters

[Anchor]

Fires have frequently occurred in logistics centers like this, and once they start, they are difficult to extinguish. Analysis suggests that the high volume of flammable materials combined with the practice of packing goods tightly makes firefighting even more challenging.

Reporter Park Jaehyeon has the story.

[Reporter]

The 2021 fire at the Coupang Deokpyeong Logistics Center resulted in the entire building being gutted.

At the time, internal CCTV footage captured sparks igniting on one side of a shelf and spreading in an instant.

Various household goods stacked on the shelves acted as kindling, causing the fire to spread rapidly.

In particular, the structure of logistics centers, where products are packed excessively tight, fueled the fire further.

The 6th floor of the Coupang Incheon Logistics Center also features a multi-level structure, known as a mezzanine, where a high-ceiling floor is divided into what looks like three levels to pack shelves more densely.

[Lee Yong-jae / Professor of Fire Safety Management, Kyungmin University: With many tiers and many racks, there is what we call a high fire load. Because there is so much to burn, it is extremely difficult to put out the fire.]

The complex structure also makes firefighting operations dangerous and slow for firefighters.

[Heo Seok-gyeong / Chief of Incheon Seobu Fire Station: As the rack warehouse collapses, the aisle width is only about 1.3 meters, and the racks are placed close together, which makes it very difficult for our personnel to enter and navigate.]

The internal sprinkler system also appears to have failed to perform its intended role.

Logistics centers are required to install sprinklers every 3 meters in height, but if a fire starts on a lower shelf, it is not easy to extinguish even if the sprinklers are activated.

[Gong Ha-sung / Professor of Fire and Disaster Prevention, Woosuk University: Because of the flammable materials stacked on the shelves, even if the sprinkler heads above are activated, the water cannot be properly sprayed onto the source of the fire because it is blocked by the goods.]

Coupang issued a statement saying, "We will actively support the firefighting activities underway at the scene and cooperate fully with the investigations by relevant authorities."

The company added that it plans to minimize delivery delays by distributing customer order volumes to other logistics centers.

(Reported by Choi Dae-woong | Video by Lee Hong-myeong | Graphics by Park Cheon-woong and Jang Chae-woo)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.