Fire at Changnyeong Paper Recycling Plant Brought Under Control After 31 Hours

Clearing Remaining Fires Using Excavators and Other Heavy Equipment

At the site of a fire at a waste paper recycling factory in Changnyeong County, Gyeongnam, a firefighter sprays water onto a pile of waste paper lifted by heavy machinery.
[Photo by Gyeongnam Fire Headquarters]

The main fire at a waste paper recycling plant in Changnyeong, Gyeongnam was finally brought under control two days after it broke out.

According to the Gyeongnam Fire Department on the 26th, a fire broke out at 12:24 p.m. the previous day at the outdoor yard of a waste paper recycling plant in Daehap-myeon, Changnyeong-gun.

After receiving a report from a factory official, the fire authorities dispatched 100 firefighters and 29 pieces of equipment to extinguish the blaze, but the fire spread to the stacked waste paper, making firefighting efforts difficult.

Firefighting operations continued into the next day, with 21 fire trucks, 4 pieces of heavy equipment including excavators, 6 waste disposal vehicles with a capacity of 6 tons, and about 70 firefighters mobilized.

A fire is being extinguished at a waste paper recycling factory in Daehap-myeon, Changnyeong-gun, Gyeongnam.
Photo by Gyeongnam Fire Headquarters

The fire authorities brought the major fire under control at 7:39 p.m. on the 26th and are currently searching for and extinguishing any remaining embers between the waste paper.

Fire response level 1, which mobilizes all equipment and personnel from the local fire station, was issued at 3:23 p.m. on the day of the fire and lifted at 8:41 a.m. the following day.

No casualties have been reported so far, and the fire is expected to be completely extinguished by the morning of the 27th.

The police and fire authorities plan to investigate the exact cause of the fire and the extent of property damage as soon as firefighting operations are completed.