[Anchor]

The fire at the Incheon Coupang fulfillment center was completely extinguished last night (the 22nd), four days after it broke out. It took 109 hours to fully extinguish the blaze, making it the second longest-lasting fire at a logistics center in South Korea. It has been confirmed that the risk factors that fueled this fire were already warned one by one in a government research project three years ago.

Reporter Je Hui-won takes an in-depth look at why these warnings became reality.

[Reporter]

On the 6th floor of the logistics center, presumed to be the starting point of the fire, household items wrapped in cardboard boxes and plastic packaging were densely packed onto 10-meter-high racks.

Fire compartments, which should have prevented the spread of combustion, practically failed to function, and this was not the first time.

This is experimental footage from a research project commissioned by the fire authorities to identify causes and devise alternatives after a firefighter was killed in the line of duty during the fire at the Coupang Deokpyeong logistics center in 2021.

The research team stacked 600 boxes in a scaled-down, 3-story experimental structure with a height of 6 meters and started a fire on the 1st floor.

In less than a minute, red flames spewed out, and soon the entire structure was engulfed in thick gray smoke.

When water began to be sprayed, a phenomenon was observed where the temperature on the 3rd floor, where flames were not visible, instead surged to over 600 degrees Celsius (1112°F) and persisted for 2 to 3 minutes.

This far exceeds 538 degrees Celsius (1000°F), the critical temperature at which steel frame structures begin to lose strength, meaning the structure could collapse at any time.

After spraying water, hot gases were instead pushed up to the upper floors, increasing the possibility of re-ignition throughout the space.

The fact that mezzanine floors, where workers climb up to work, are still brought in as "industrial equipment" and treated like furniture, exempt from fire compartment regulations under the Building Act, was already pointed out three years ago.

[Ham Seung-hee / Professor, Department of Fire Protection Engineering, University of Seoul: There is no reason for (building owners) to consider which choice is safer or reduces risk more. We must comprehensively (look back) at where failures occur even when legal regulations are complied with.]

Countries like the United States and Germany classify risks from the warehouse design stage based on the combustion risk of stored goods, and accordingly determine fire compartments, sprinkler performance, and water supply volume.

The structure is designed so that if fire compartments are excessively reduced, insurance premiums rise significantly, forcing companies themselves to consider both safety and cost.

Earlier this year, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport requested data on the installation status of multi-tier racks from logistics companies nationwide, but Coupang refused to disclose it, citing management information.

(Photo: Yang Ji-hoon | Video Editing: Kim Yun-seong | Design: Jang Chae-woo)