"Bang Bang Bang, the building across also shakes"... Initial firefighting at POSCO Pohang Steelworks fire, 1 injured (Comprehensive Report 2)

According to the Gyeongbuk Fire Headquarters on the 10th, at around 4:20 a.m., a fire broke out with an explosion at the POSCO Pohang Steelworks 3 Finex Plant Tower in Jecheol-dong, Nam-gu, Pohang City. Yonhap News

A fire broke out with an explosion at POSCO Pohang Steelworks, prompting a Level 1 response at one point, but it was initially extinguished by the fire authorities.

According to the Gyeongbuk Fire Headquarters on the 10th, at around 4:20 a.m., a fire and explosion occurred at the tower of the 3rd FINEX plant at POSCO Pohang Steelworks in Jecheoldong, Nam-gu, Pohang. Residents of Pohang reported that the explosion was so loud that the buildings across the Hyeongsan River shook, with the sound occurring three times.

Upon the fire outbreak, the fire authorities issued a Level 1 response around 4:50 a.m. and deployed 43 fire trucks and about 120 personnel to extinguish the fire. POSCO’s own fire station was also involved from the beginning in firefighting efforts. The 3rd FINEX plant, where the fire occurred, is approximately 50 meters tall, and due to the intensity of the flames, the fire authorities initially had difficulty approaching the site. After suppressing the flames by spraying a large amount of water, the fire authorities declared initial extinguishment at around 6:37 a.m. and are currently putting out the remaining fire.

Among the eight workers inside the plant at the time of the fire, one was injured and seven evacuated. The injured person, Mr. A (36), suffered second-degree burns and was transported to a hospital in Pohang.

At around 4:20 a.m. on the 10th, a report of a large fire was received at POSCO Pohang Steelworks in Jecheol-dong, Nam-gu, Pohang-si, Gyeongbuk, and the fire authorities are working to extinguish it. Photo by Gyeongbuk Fire Headquarters, Yonhap News.

The FINEX plant where the fire occurred is a facility that produces molten iron by directly using iron ore and bituminous coal without the preliminary processing step, similar to a blast furnace. FINEX is a process that omits the coke manufacturing plant and sintering plant, which are preliminary processing steps, and uses inexpensive powdered iron ore and bituminous coal as raw materials, reducing investment and production costs by about 15%. Additionally, compared to blast furnaces, it emits only 3% sulfur oxides, 1% nitrogen oxides, and 28% particulate matter, making it recognized as an eco-friendly green technology. The 3rd FINEX plant is known to produce 2 million tons of molten iron annually.

POSCO, along with police and fire authorities, plans to investigate the cause of the fire and the extent of the damage. POSCO expects that the operation of the 3rd FINEX plant where the fire occurred will face difficulties for the time being. A POSCO official stated, "We need to investigate further to determine the cause of the fire and the extent of the damage."