A large fire broke out at a machinery manufacturing plant in Seo-gu, Incheon, and fire authorities are working to put it out. The blaze at one point spread into a cluster of factories, prompting a level 2 response, but no casualties have been reported so far.
According to the National Fire Agency and the Incheon Fire Headquarters on the 16th, at about 1:49 a.m. that day, a fire of unknown cause broke out at a machinery manufacturing plant in Wonchang-dong, Seo-gu, Incheon. After receiving a report, fire authorities arrived on scene at about 1:56 a.m. and began firefighting efforts.
As the flames continued to spread, fire authorities issued a level 1 response at 3:15 a.m., mobilizing all personnel from the jurisdictional fire station. They then raised the alert to level 2 at 3:59 a.m., mobilizing personnel and equipment from five to six neighboring fire stations.
Fire authorities downgraded the alert to level 1 at about 6:05 a.m. So far, 122 fire apparatus and 341 personnel have been deployed to continue extinguishing the blaze.
As of now, 17 companies and 25 buildings have been counted as destroyed in the fire. Earlier tallies indicated 27 buildings were destroyed, but fire authorities later corrected the figure to 25.
The National Fire Agency is mobilizing all available firefighting resources. Nine helicopters, including four fire helicopters and five Korea Forest Service helicopters, have been deployed to the scene, along with a large-capacity water monitor system, unmanned firefighting robots, unmanned breaching water cannons, high-performance chemical trucks, and drones. The acting commissioner of the agency also headed to the scene that morning.
Seo-gu District Office in Incheon urged residents via a safety text alert to avoid entering the accident site and to detour vehicles. Fire authorities plan to investigate the exact cause of the fire and the extent of the damage once the flames are contained.