A massive fire in a factory district in Wonchang-dong, Incheon, has resulted in significant property damage, destroying 25 buildings, including factories and warehouses. Fire authorities have confirmed that there have been no reported injuries so far.
According to the National Fire Agency and Incheon Fire Department, the fire broke out at 1:49 a.m. at a machinery manufacturing factory for unknown reasons. Firefighters responded to a report from a security company, but the flames quickly spread to nearby buildings due to the dense nature of the factory area.
Yonhap News reported that the fire occurred in a tightly packed area where some buildings were as close as one meter apart. The presence of various flammable materials stored inside the factories contributed to the rapid spread of the fire. As of now, 17 companies and 25 buildings have been confirmed as destroyed.
A fire official at the scene told Yonhap, "It is difficult for firefighters to enter due to the risk of building collapses." Indeed, some structures have already collapsed or suffered significant damage, with black smoke continuing to rise even six hours after the fire started.
At 3:15 a.m., fire authorities escalated their response to Level 1, mobilizing all personnel from the local fire station. By 3:59 a.m., they raised the alert to Level 2, calling in resources from five to six nearby fire stations. The spread of the fire began to stabilize, allowing them to downgrade the response back to Level 1 at 6:05 a.m.
A large-scale firefighting operation was launched, involving nine helicopters, including four fire department helicopters and five from the Forest Service. Specialized equipment such as high-capacity water delivery systems, firefighting robots, unmanned water cannons, high-performance chemical trucks, and drones were also deployed. According to Yonhap, a total of 151 pieces of equipment and 408 personnel were involved in the firefighting efforts.
At the scene, aerial ladder trucks sprayed water from above while fire engines and hose vehicles attacked the flames from the ground. Firefighting robots and unmanned water cannons handled areas that were difficult to access, while some firefighters climbed onto nearby rooftops to adjust the angle of water sprays to prevent further spread of the fire.
Incheon Mayor-elect Park Chan-dae visited the site and expressed relief that there were no casualties, stating, "We need fundamental improvements regarding issues like sandwich panels and the spacing between factories."
Incheon’s district office has urged residents to avoid the area around the fire site and to detour their vehicles. Fire authorities plan to investigate the exact cause of the fire and assess the extent of property damage once the situation is stabilized.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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