[Anchor]

A major fire broke out at a hazardous materials storage warehouse in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. At one point, a national firefighting mobilization order was issued, with over 200 firefighters deployed to battle the blaze. The major flames have now been contained.

Reporter Je Hui-won has the details.

[Reporter]

Fierce red flames soar above the warehouse building, spewing thick black smoke into the sky.

The fire broke out at around 12:03 AM today (August 11) at a hazardous materials storage warehouse in Cheongbuk-eup, Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.

Firefighters, dispatched following an alert from the automatic fire detection system, witnessed flames inside the warehouse. No casualties have been confirmed so far.

[Fire Witness: The exterior walls of the building kept catching fire. (Firefighters) were spraying water as well. I also saw many instances of continuous explosions.]

The site of the fire is a single-story warehouse storing Class 4 hazardous materials, which are flammable liquids. Authorities have found that approximately 1.91 million liters of about 100 different chemical substances were stored there.

With concerns growing that the fire would spread, fire authorities issued a Level 1 response at 1:32 AM, mobilizing personnel and equipment from the jurisdiction's fire station. Due to the risk of the fire expanding, they issued a Level 2 response about an hour later, followed by a national firefighting mobilization order at 3:39 AM, which mobilized firefighting forces from other regions.

Consequently, 26 additional fire vehicles, including water tanker trucks, chemical trucks, and recovery support vehicles, were mobilized from South Chungcheong Province, Sejong, North Chungcheong Province, and Daejeon.

As the major flames were brought under control, fire authorities lifted the Level 1 response at 8:30 AM, successfully achieving initial containment about nine hours after the fire broke out.

The city of Pyeongtaek advised nearby residents to keep their windows closed, refrain from going outside, and detour around the scene.

(Video by Joo Yong-jin | Video Editing by Lee Sang-min)