Fire at Hwaseong Primary Battery Factory... 1 Dead, 3 Injured

Response Level 2 Issued

At around 10:31 a.m. on the 24th, a fire broke out at a lithium battery manufacturing factory in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, resulting in casualties.

According to the Fire Agency, a report from a factory official was received at 10:31 a.m., and firefighters arrived at the scene at 10:41 a.m. So far, one person has died, one is seriously injured, and two have sustained minor injuries.

The factory official reported that "a fire occurred at a factory handling hazardous chemicals," and the fire department issued Response Level 1 at 10:40 a.m., followed by Response Level 2 at 10:54 a.m., about 10 minutes later. The Fire Agency stated that the response levels were proactively raised from the control room due to concerns about multiple casualties.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The fire department is deploying 50 pieces of equipment and 135 personnel for firefighting and rescue operations. Ten police officers have also been dispatched.

The factory where the fire occurred manufactures primary batteries and is known to employ about 50 workers. The factory buildings consist of 11 steel-framed structures with a total floor area of 5,530 square meters.

Lee Sang-min, Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, urgently instructed, "to mobilize all available personnel and equipment, including firefighters, to fully focus on extinguishing the fire and rescuing survivors and to pay special attention to the safety of rescue workers." Nam Hwa-young, Commissioner of the Fire Agency, and Lee Han-kyung, Director of the Disaster and Safety Management Headquarters at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, are en route to the fire site.