Fire at Coupang Logistics Center Extinguished After 61 Hours; Evacuation Order Lifted

[Anchor]

The massive fire that broke out at the Coupang logistics center in Incheon on July 18 has been brought under control as of 8:00 p.m., 61 hours after the incident began. Fire authorities are currently working to extinguish remaining embers, and the evacuation order previously issued for local residents has just been lifted.

Reporter Son Hyeong-an has the story.

[Reporter]

The fire at the Incheon Coupang logistics center, an eight-story building with a total floor area of 299,000 square meters, began at approximately 6:54 a.m. on July 18.

Fire authorities, who have been battling the blaze for three days with a focus on the sixth floor where the fire originated, announced that the main flames were brought under control around 8:00 p.m.

This milestone came 61 hours after the highest level of national firefighting mobilization was issued to mount an all-out response.

The firefighting efforts were difficult due to the complex structure of the building, particularly the sixth floor, which features a mezzanine design where each floor is divided into two or three levels to store goods.

Fire authorities are currently focusing on clearing remaining embers while preventing the fire from spreading to the fifth floor below.

The fifth floor houses hundreds of warehouse robots that use lithium batteries.

[Interview: Heo Seok-gyeong / Chief of Incheon Seo-bu Fire Station: (If the fire spreads to the fifth floor), it would lead to a rapid spread of fire throughout the entire building, so our personnel entered the building to block the expansion of the fire.]

Previously, the Incheon Metropolitan Government issued an evacuation order for areas within a 116-meter radius of the logistics center yesterday (July 19) due to the risk of building collapse. With the fire now under control, the evacuation order was lifted as of 11:00 p.m.

Approximately 200 residents staying at nearby temporary shelters are expected to return home at daybreak.

Fire authorities stated that they plan to investigate the exact scale of the damage and the cause of the fire once it is completely extinguished, adding that it is expected to take a considerable amount of time to fully put out the fire.

(Video coverage: Kim Seung-tae, Kim Han-gyeol | Video editing: Park Ji-in)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.