[Exclusive] Hwaseong Arisel Fire Survivor "Barely Escaped Knowing Internal Structure"

22 Dead, 8 Injured, 1 Missing
Investigation into Violation of Serious Accident Punishment Act
Joint On-Site Inspection Scheduled for Morning of 25th

"All the flesh has burned away, so there are no belongings or any clues at all."

A fire has broken out at the Arisel factory in Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi Province, with smoke and flames rising. [Image source=Yonhap News]

◆Most bodies are charred remains, making identification difficult

On the 24th, a representative of Hwaseong Yuil Hospital Funeral Hall in Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi Province, wore a bitter expression, saying, "Everything was damaged and completely burned." Four unidentified bodies from the Arisel battery factory fire were placed here. On the screen in the lobby on the first floor of the funeral hall, only the phrase "We will forever remember your noble life" appeared, with no identity information such as the deceased's name or age. Not a single bereaved family member was even seen.

The entire factory was engulfed in smoke in an instant, but some people barely survived. Mr. A, who worked in the quality control department at the time, said, "At first, there was a loud noise. When I looked, the battery was burning," adding, "I knew the internal structure well, so it took less than a minute to jump from the third floor to the second floor. There were no stairs, so you couldn't walk down." The wife of Mr. B, the site manager, said, "My husband evacuated 100 employees, inhaled smoke, and then jumped down," adding, "Both feet are fractured. He is in a lot of pain now. They said surgery can only proceed after the swelling goes down, but there is no definite timeline yet," with tears in her eyes.

Witnesses recalled that the explosion sounded like a war had broken out. Mr. Hoan (34), an employee at a nearby factory, said, "The bang-bang-bang sounds continued for over 40 minutes." Mr. Lim Chung-hyuk (43) said, "It sounded like a series of firecrackers, so we wrapped up and evacuated our factory as well," adding, "I've worked here for about 10 years, and this is the third major fire in the area. It's shocking because this is the first time there have been casualties." Mr. Lee Jin-mu (50) said, "Fires occasionally happen in the factory," and added, "Many foreigners work here, so it's unfortunate."

On the screen in the lobby on the first floor of Hwaseong Yuil Hospital Funeral Hall in Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, the message "We will forever remember your noble life" is displayed.
[Photo by Seongah Sim]

◆Among the dead and missing, 18 are foreigners unfamiliar with the internal structure

The fire at the Arisel factory broke out at 10:31 a.m. the previous day. The fire resulted in 22 deaths, 8 serious injuries, and 1 person missing. Among the 23 deceased and missing, 5 are Korean, 17 Chinese, and 1 Laotian. Among the Koreans, one person was naturalized from China to Korea. Search efforts continue to find one additional missing person beyond the confirmed deceased. The Hwaseong Arisel Factory Fire Investigation Headquarters of the Southern Gyeonggi Police Agency plans to conduct a joint inspection with the fire department, National Forensic Service, National Institute of Land and Infrastructure Safety, Ministry of Employment and Labor, and Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency starting at 10:30 a.m. on the 25th.

Preliminary investigations suggest that the fire spread throughout the factory within 15 seconds after a small smoke appeared from a battery, causing significant casualties. Cho Sun-ho, head of the Gyeonggi Fire and Disaster Headquarters, visited the site around 8 p.m. with Governor Kim Dong-yeon of Gyeonggi Province and explained the fire situation captured on CCTV installed inside the factory, stating, "At first, a small white smoke started rising from the battery section, and the smoke rapidly spread, covering the entire workspace in about 15 seconds. The workers seemed a bit startled at first and tried to extinguish the fire with fire extinguishers, but since lithium was nearby, the extinguishing power was insufficient."

According to the fire authorities, most of the deceased were found gathered in the workshop connected to the ignition point on the second floor of Building 3. Particularly, most victims were daily workers unfamiliar with the internal structure, which increased the scale of the damage. Head Cho said, "If they had evacuated toward the front of the second-floor entrance, the casualties might have been much lower, but they panicked and evacuated toward the blocked inner area," adding, "Among the foreign workers working here, many are dispatched from service companies as needed, so they were not well acquainted with the factory's internal layout, which is also considered a factor that increased the damage."

The Arisel factory reportedly has about 50 regular workers. The Ministry of Employment and Labor has formed an industrial accident response headquarters and is investigating violations of the Industrial Safety and Health Act and the Serious Accident Punishment Act. Immediately after the accident, the ministry established the Central Industrial Accident Response Headquarters (Jungsanbon) led by the minister within the Industrial Safety and Health Headquarters. Jungsanbon coordinates with related agencies such as the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Fire Agency, and Ministry of Environment to comprehensively support worker searches, site recovery, and victim assistance. Minister Lee Jung-sik of the Ministry of Employment and Labor instructed, "Cooperate with related agencies to promptly handle the accident and investigate the cause of the disaster as quickly and strictly as possible."

Firefighters are busily moving at the scene of a fire at the Arisel factory in Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi.
[Photo by Seongah Sim]

◆Difficult-to-extinguish lithium batteries, a predictable human-caused disaster

Arisel manufactures and sells lithium primary batteries. The factory is a reinforced concrete structure with a total floor area of 5,530㎡, consisting of 11 buildings. The fire occurred in Building 3, constructed in April 2018. It was confirmed that about 35,000 finished lithium batteries were stored there. Lithium reacts highly with air and heat, so even primary batteries can explode and cause fires if exposed to high temperatures or contact with steam. Typically, battery fires are not easily extinguished by the usual method of spraying water. Even if the fire appears to be out on the surface, hundreds of degrees of heat continue inside, so flames can reignite at any time. Fires generate large amounts of hydrofluoric acid gas, making it difficult for firefighting personnel to enter the fire scene or building interior.

Experts unanimously called this a predictable human-caused disaster born of safety negligence. Professor Lee Chang-woo of Soongsil Cyber University said, "The biggest cause of this accident was the carelessness of the company that piled up hazardous materials in one place," criticizing, "They made a big mistake by not storing small quantities separately, knowing that once a fire starts, it cannot be extinguished." Professor Son Won-bae of the Department of Fire and Disaster Prevention at Chodang University said, "For spontaneously combustible materials like lithium batteries, storage and handling standards must be followed, such as stacking them at certain intervals," and warned, "If safety standards are not observed, similar fires can occur anywhere." Professor Gong Ha-sung of the Department of Fire and Disaster Prevention at Woosuk University explained, "In the case of lithium batteries, if external impact raises the temperature and causes a fire, the flames can spread to other batteries, causing a chain explosion," adding, "They should have been thoroughly managed to prevent contact with potential ignition sources and to avoid static electricity generation."