At about 6:10 a.m. on the 15th, a large fire broke out at the E-Land Group fashion logistics center in Pungse-myeon, Dongnam District, Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, and fire authorities are working to put it out.
After receiving a report from a logistics center security guard that "the fire alarm is going off," fire authorities dispatched crews and at 6:15 a.m. issued "response level 1," which mobilizes all firefighters at the jurisdictional fire station. Then at about 7:01 a.m., it was raised to "response level 2," which mobilizes all fire personnel in nearby areas.
The South Chungcheong Fire Headquarters is deploying more than 120 pieces of equipment, including fire engines, and more than 300 personnel from fire stations in the Cheonan and Asan areas to contain the blaze. Eight helicopters were also deployed.
According to police, at the time of the fire there were two security guards and one situation manager in the logistics center, and all three evacuated safely.
There have been no casualties so far from the fire, but the logistics center is full of goods such as clothing, making extinguishing efforts difficult.
The center, completed on Jul. 2014, has one basement level and four above-ground floors (total floor area 193,210 square meters). It is a large-scale logistics facility where 150 cargo trucks can dock simultaneously, handling up to 50,000 boxes per day and 4 million to 5 million boxes annually.
Cheonan city notified residents of the fire through emergency text messages starting at 7:20 a.m. that day and urged, "Nearby residents should move away from the accident site, and vehicles should take detours."
Police and fire authorities plan to begin an on-site investigation to determine the exact ignition point and cause as soon as the fire is completely extinguished.