"Can't Last 5 Minutes Without a Mask... Can't Keep My Eyes Open": Inside the Devastated Fire Scene

"The burning smell is so strong that I can't keep my eyes open. The factory windows have all melted."

At 9:00 a.m. today (August 13), at the PJK Pyeongtaek Center 1, a special logistics center in Tojin-ri, Cheongbuk-eup, Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.

The scene of the massive fire, which prompted the issuance of a national firefighting mobilization order in the early hours of the 11th, was left looking like it had been hit by a bombing, with only black ashes remaining.

Inside and outside the buildings, which were burned down beyond recognition, H-beams bent like taffy and fixtures that once held chemical substances were scattered around.

Although fire authorities mobilized heavy equipment to clear the debris, the scene still resembled a battlefield.

Even though 36 hours had passed since the flames were completely extinguished, a pungent, acrid odor pierced the air.

Approaching just dozens of meters from the site, a sharp and bitter smell filled the air, making it difficult to last even five minutes without a mask.

Workers from nearby factories and local residents let out sighs as they watched the devastating scene.

Mr. Chang, the head of an auto parts factory located just tens of meters away from the fire site, explained the extent of the damage to visiting fire insurance officials this morning, pointing to windowpanes melted by the heat during the fire.

"The extreme heat during the fire melted all the facilities," Mr. Chang complained. "Even now, the smell is so bad that it is virtually impossible to carry out normal work."

"I heard that hazardous materials are also stored in other warehouses," he added. "The exact cause of the fire must be uncovered so that people working around here can feel at ease."

In fact, the PJK Pyeongtaek Center 1 where the fire broke out is a large-scale special logistics facility authorized to store a total of 12.55 million liters of hazardous materials.


The single-story warehouse building where the fire first started was also permitted to store 1.91 million liters of materials, including about 100 types of Class 4 hazardous flammable liquids and general chemical substances.

The fire, which began here at 12:03 a.m. on the 11th, raged through the hazardous materials and engulfed adjacent warehouse buildings.

Fearing the spread of the fire due to chemical substances, fire authorities successively raised the response levels and even issued a national firefighting mobilization order.

The fire was completely extinguished at 9:17 p.m. on the same day, about 21 hours after it started.

Starting around 9:40 a.m. today, forensic investigation vehicles and other agency vehicles began to trickle into the quiet fire scene.

By 10:00 a.m., about 20 officials from five agencies—including the Gyeonggi Provincial Fire and Disaster Headquarters, the Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency, the National Forensic Service, Korea Gas Corporation, and Korea Safety Technology—began a joint inspection.

Wearing white forensic suits and vests reading "Accident Investigation," the joint inspection team scoured various parts of the site to locate the origin of the fire.

They carefully inspected the scene, moving cautiously to avoid debris and gathering at specific spots within the site.

Police and fire authorities plan to determine where and how the fire that swallowed the large hazardous materials warehouse started, based on the results of the joint inspection, CCTV analysis, and investigations of company officials.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.