Fire at Hamyang Landfill Extinguished After 14 Hours

Firefighters are spraying extinguishing agent toward the fire at the landfill site. Photo by Gyeongnam Fire Headquarters

A fire that broke out late the previous afternoon at a landfill site in Hamyang-gun, Gyeongnam, was extinguished the following morning.

According to the Gyeongnam Fire Department on the 5th, a fire occurred at a landfill in Hamyang-eup, Hamyang-gun at around 8:38 p.m. the previous day.

After a landfill worker witnessed the fire through closed-circuit (CC) TV footage and reported it, fire authorities dispatched 74 personnel, including firefighters, and mobilized 19 pieces of equipment such as fire engines and excavators to battle the blaze throughout the night.

The fire burned a 25-meter cutoff mat designed to prevent contaminated water from seeping into the groundwater and was completely extinguished at 10:24 a.m. on the 5th.

There were no casualties, but property damage was estimated at about 5 million won by the fire department, and approximately 60 tons of waste were lost in the fire.

The police and fire authorities are investigating the exact cause of the fire.