[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] As a fire broke out on the 17th at Coupang's Deokpyeong Logistics Center in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, the large flames have gradually subsided by the afternoon of the second day of firefighting on the 18th.
The fire authorities stated in a briefing at 4 p.m. that "the large flames have been almost completely extinguished, and the risk of the fire spreading further is low," adding, "Smoke is continuously coming from the stored goods, so firefighting operations are being carried out while navigating through it."
They continued, "Due to concerns about building collapse, we are first conducting safety inspections on the exterior walls of the building, and the most important safety inspection of the interior is planned to begin tomorrow morning," and explained, "Once the safety inspection is completed, we will start searching for the missing firefighter."
The fire authorities are using about 20 fire trucks to surround the logistics center where the fire broke out and are spraying water with fire hoses toward the interior of the building as part of the firefighting efforts.
The authorities planned to conduct a safety diagnosis of the building by deploying internal firefighting experts and university professors as soon as the flames are controlled, and then search for Kim Dong-sik, the 52-year-old captain of the 119 rescue team from Gwangju Fire Station, who went missing after entering the building the previous day and failing to come out.
However, since there are many flammable materials inside the building such as goods, paper boxes used for parcel packaging, vinyl, and stickers, the firefighting operation is expected to take an additional day, which will likely delay the start of the rescue operation for Captain Kim by another day.
The fire started around 5:20 a.m. the previous day on the second basement floor of the building.
The fire authorities issued a "Response Level 2" alert within about 20 minutes of receiving the report, mobilizing personnel and equipment from the jurisdictional fire station and 5 to 6 neighboring fire stations, deploying about 60 pieces of equipment and 150 personnel to suppress the initial fire.
The fire's intensity somewhat subsided around 8:19 a.m., about 2 hours and 40 minutes after it started, as the large flames were brought under control, and accordingly, the authorities began extinguishing remaining flames and gradually lifted the previously issued alerts.
However, around 11:50 a.m., flames flared up again inside, and at 12:14 p.m., the Response Level 2 alert was reissued, and firefighting operations have continued since then.
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