SEOUL, July 20 (AJP) - A fire at a Coupang logistics center in Incheon had burned for more than 51 hours as of Monday, with flames spreading to all four sides of the building. Local authorities have ordered an evacuation near the site as a precaution, though fire officials have pushed back on earlier media reports that firefighters were given an emergency escape order over building collapse fears.
The fire broke out around 6:54 a.m. Friday on the sixth floor of Coupang's Fulfillment Center 32 in Seoknam-dong, Seohae-gu, an eight-story warehouse with roughly 299,000 square meters of floor space, according to Incheon Fire Headquarters. It later spread to the seventh floor and, as of Monday, was burning throughout the building.
Fire authorities issued a Level 1 alert at 9:15 a.m. Friday, raised it to Level 2 by 12:25 p.m., and declared a National Fire Mobilization Order at 3:15 p.m., drawing personnel and equipment from Seoul, Gyeonggi, Chungcheongbuk, Chungcheongnam and Gangwon. As of Monday morning, 812 firefighters and 231 pieces of equipment remained at the scene.
At a briefing on July 19, Incheon Seobu Fire Station disaster response chief Jeon Jae-in said dense, high-temperature smoke from flammable goods stacked on the warehouse's three-tiered racking has severely limited visibility and access for crews. Regarding earlier reports that firefighters had been issued an emergency evacuation order due to collapse risk, fire chief Heo said those accounts were "overstated," explaining that the instruction was a routine pull-back as the fire intensified, not an emergency escape situation. Kwak Dong-sam, head of the Korean Institute of Structural Engineers, said at the same briefing that there was no current risk of the building collapsing.
Separately, citing precautionary safety concerns, Seohae-gu ordered an evacuation late Sunday within a 116-meter radius of the warehouse's ramp area, covering nearby businesses but not residential areas. Some 178 residents also voluntarily moved to shelters at two elementary schools, and a nearby elementary school and 14 daycare centers suspended classes Monday.
About 121 employees evacuated the warehouse on their own when the fire broke out; no mass casualties have been reported. One firefighter was hospitalized after inhaling smoke.
President Lee Jae-myung was briefed on the fire and ordered officials to focus resources on extinguishing it and preventing further damage. Coupang Fulfillment Services CEO Jeong Jong-cheol issued a public apology on Friday.
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