On the morning of the 17th, smoke was rising from a fire at Kumho Tire's Gwangju factory in Songjeong-dong, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju. Photo by Yonhap News
Ko Ki-dong, the acting Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, has ordered that all possible efforts be made to rescue people and extinguish the fire at the tire factory in Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju.
On the 17th, Ko issued an emergency directive, stating, "All relevant agencies, including the National Fire Agency, the National Police Agency, Gwangju City, and Gwangsan-gu, must mobilize all available personnel and equipment to focus on rescuing people and extinguishing the fire."
He went on to say, "Do your utmost to ensure that no safety accidents occur among firefighters during the fire suppression process," and added, "The police should make every effort to control the area around the fire scene."
The fire authorities issued a Level 1 fire response at 7:28 a.m. on this day, and then raised it to Level 2 at 7:59 a.m.
At around 7:11 a.m. on the same day, a fire broke out at Kumho Tire's Gwangju factory in Songjeong-dong, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju. The fire is believed to have started in a storage area for rubber, which is used as a tire material.
The fire authorities have escalated the response to Level 2, mobilizing all fire stations in Gwangju for firefighting operations. At one point, one employee was isolated in the building where the fire occurred but was rescued.
Because a large amount of flammable materials such as tire components are stacked in the area, it is expected to take a considerable amount of time to fully extinguish the fire.
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