Fire at Incheon Factory Extinguished After 7 Hours... Damage to Over 30 Buildings (Comprehensive)

Large Fire at Machinery Manufacturing Factory in Wanggil-dong, Seo-gu, Incheon
Nearby Hillside Fire Spread but... Early Containment Successful
Alarm Lifted at 3:55 PM... Office Fire Suspected

On the morning of the 20th, black smoke is rising from a machine processing factory in Wanggil-dong, Seo-gu, Incheon.
[Photo by Ki-min Lee]

A large fire broke out at an industrial machinery manufacturing factory in Incheon, prompting the fire authorities to issue an alarm, and the flames were brought under control after 7 hours.

According to the Incheon Fire Headquarters on the 20th, the fire started around 8:44 a.m. at a machinery manufacturing factory in Wanggil-dong, Seo-gu. There were no casualties from the fire, but strong winds caused the flames to spread to the surrounding area, burning about 30 factory buildings. Thick black smoke rose into the sky, and 244 fire reports were received by 119.

The fire authorities issued a 'Response Level 1' alarm 30 minutes after the fire broke out, and at 11:02 a.m., 2 hours and 18 minutes later, they raised it to 'Response Level 2.' Response Level 1 involves dispatching all personnel from the jurisdictional fire station, while Response Level 2 is an alarm that mobilizes personnel and equipment from 5 to 6 neighboring fire stations.

The fire authorities deployed 5 firefighting helicopters, 72 firefighting vehicles and equipment, and 193 firefighters to the scene. After controlling the major flames, all alarms were lifted around 3:55 p.m. The fire was fully extinguished and initial suppression was completed at 4:02 p.m., 7 hours and 18 minutes after the fire started. Although the fire spread to a nearby hill, the fire authorities quickly contained the spread, preventing it from expanding into a forest fire.

The fire authorities believe the fire spread rapidly due to strong winds changing direction and the adjacent factory buildings being constructed with flammable materials such as sandwich panels. Jo Bohyeong, head of the 119 Disaster Response Division at Geomdan Fire Station, explained, "The narrow spacing between buildings made it difficult for fire trucks to position themselves, causing the fire to spread quickly. Despite the full deployment of vehicles from the Incheon area due to the wide fire range, there were difficulties in extinguishing the fire."

Seo-gu, Incheon City, repeatedly urged residents through six safety alert messages to "be cautious of smoke inhalation and evacuate to a safe place."

The fire authorities believe the fire started in the factory office and plan to investigate the specific cause once the fire is completely extinguished. A fire official stated, "It is presumed that factory personnel attempted to extinguish the fire themselves initially but failed. We plan to investigate the extent of the damage after the fire is fully put out."