Major Fire Breaks Out at Daejeon Tire Shop, Spreads to Adjacent Buildings

[Anchor]

A massive fire broke out at a tire shop in downtown Daejeon yesterday (October 30) and was finally extinguished after four and a half hours. As the flames spread to adjacent buildings, 200 firefighters and even a helicopter were deployed.

Reporter Oh In-gyun from TJB.

[Reporter]

Crimson flames soar from a tire shop along the roadside.

Thick, black smoke generated by burning tires blankets the sky, and the exterior walls of the building are warped, looking precarious enough to collapse at any moment.

Sparks fly and explosion sounds are heard when water comes into contact with electrical facilities.

The fire at the tire shop broke out at around 10:00 AM.

Residents of an officetel across the street woke up to a acrid smell and rushed outside in shock.

[Nearby Resident: An emergency alert message came, so I came out to the front and saw there was a fire. At first, the fire was only at the tire shop, but now it has spread to the adjacent building....]

An employee working at the store at the time evacuated promptly, and two residents who inhaled smoke received treatment at the scene and returned home.

The fire, which started at the tire shop, spread to the adjacent building and the rear of the structure, with smoke continuing to spew from the opposite side of the building as well.

Dunsan Fire Station is located right next to the fire scene, but because the crew members were away at a disaster response drill at the time, units had to be dispatched from another fire station, taking 10 minutes for the first arrival.

The fire authorities issued a Level 1 response 20 minutes after the fire broke out and deployed two helicopters and about 200 firefighters.

However, the 6--story building to which the flames spread also contained a large amount of combustible materials such as automobile parts, and the heat was so intense that part of the store collapsed, causing difficulties in firefighting operations.

[Choi Young-hoon / Head of 119 Disaster Response Division, Dunsan Fire Station: Due to the high heat, the building collapsed, so we do not know the exact amount of tires inside, but judging by the flames, it is confirmed that a large amount of combustible materials, namely tires, were stored.]

The fire was completely extinguished about 4 hours and 30 minutes after it started, and the fire response level was lifted.

The fire authorities plan to investigate the cause of the fire and the scale of the damage through a joint inspection.

(Video by Song Chang-gun, TJB)

TJB Oh In-gyun
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.