Hundreds of work robots with lithium batteries, which are vulnerable to fire, were found stored on the fifth floor of Coupang's logistics warehouse in Incheon, where a fire has continued for a third day. Fire authorities are throwing all their resources into stopping the flames, which first broke out on the sixth floor, from spreading to the lower floors.
On the 20th, at a briefing near the fire scene, Heo Seok-gyeong, head of the Incheon Seobu Fire Station, said, "Hundreds of logistics transport robots powered by lithium batteries are gathered on the fifth floor of the warehouse."
Heo added, "To prevent the fire from spreading on the fifth floor, which has not yet burned, crews are entering the interior to contain the spread," and said, "We have deployed 31 specialized vehicles, including high-ladder trucks, to each side of the building and are doing our best to suppress the fire's intensity."
Authorities are also flying thermal imaging drones to monitor heat accumulation in real time inside the building while concentrating firefighting equipment in areas with intense combustion. The amount of lithium batteries in the logistics warehouse robots on the fifth floor is confirmed to be on par with the capacity used in 20 electric vehicles.
Fire authorities believe the fire first started in the right-side area (zone 1) of the sixth floor based on the vehicle ramp. The sixth floor alone has a floor area of 28,329 square meters, roughly the size of four soccer fields combined.
When the fire broke out and fire authorities arrived at the scene, the sprinklers and fire shutters were operating. Heo said, "Whether the sprinklers activated at the appropriate time will be determined through a joint inspection after the fire is fully extinguished."
The flames have since further spread to the left-side area of the sixth floor and to the seventh floor. The area is packed with highly flammable everyday goods, and the heat cannot vent outside, while the interior layout is maze-like, making it extremely difficult for crews to enter or vent the heavy smoke.
Since on the 18th, the fire headquarters has maintained a nationwide mobilization order for firefighting resources and has been battling the blaze for more than 55 hours. However, given the sheer size of the logistics warehouse and the abundance of flammable stored materials, it expects it will take considerable time to extinguish all remaining embers.
Once the firefighting is complete, authorities plan to form a joint investigation team with expert institutions, including the National Fire Research Institute and the Korea Electrical Safety Corporation (KESCO), to investigate the exact ignition cause and the specific scale of the damage.