No Human Casualties Reported
A fire broke out at Seocheon Specialty Market in Seocheon-gun, Chungnam, destroying 227 stores.
According to the fire authorities on the 23rd, the fire started around 11:08 PM the previous day at a seafood building store within the market. The authorities issued a Level 1 fire response at 11:17 PM and Level 2 at 11:59 PM, then began firefighting operations.
A total of 361 firefighters and 45 pieces of equipment were deployed, and the major flames were brought under control around 1:15 AM, about two hours after the fire started.
There were no casualties as there were no residents inside the market at the time. However, all 227 stores in the seafood and miscellaneous goods buildings were completely burned down.
Lee Sang-min, Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, urgently instructed, "Mobilize all available equipment and personnel to fully suppress the fire, and related agencies such as the Fire Agency, Chungcheongnam-do, and Seocheon-gun should do their utmost to prevent any safety accidents involving firefighters during the firefighting process." He also requested, "Please thoroughly prevent the damage from spreading to the nearby agricultural products market."
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