Incheon's Seo District is considering lifting the evacuation order issued for residents near the Coupang logistics center after the fire was brought under primary control 61 hours after it broke out.
According to Incheon's Seo District on the 20th, the district plans to hold a situational assessment meeting in the afternoon, chaired by the head of the local disaster and safety countermeasures headquarters, the Seo District mayor, to decide whether and when to lift the evacuation order.
Earlier, judging that part of the building could collapse due to the fire, Seo District issued an evacuation order at 11 p.m. the previous day for within a 116-meter radius of the logistics center ramp area.
The evacuation target was limited to the shops and factories south of the Coupang logistics center, and did not include residential areas or police and fire personnel working on-site.
At the temporary shelters set up at Sinhyeon Elementary School and Sinhyeonbuk Elementary School, 202 residents are staying. They are not subject to the evacuation order but reportedly evacuated voluntarily due to concerns about smoke and dust.
With the fire brought under primary control around 8 p.m. that day, the risk of the building collapsing has somewhat decreased.
The Korea Association of Structural Engineers used a National Fire Agency drone to inspect the building's internal structure and judged that Building B, the initial ignition point, does not face a high risk of further collapse. Building A, to which the fire spread, was once considered at risk of toppling, but much of the collapse risk has now been resolved.
A Seo District official said, "We plan to decide whether and when to lift the evacuation order at the situational assessment meeting," adding, "We are reviewing several options, including lifting it after monitoring the situation until tomorrow morning with safety in mind."
Earlier, at 6:54 a.m. on the 18th, a fire broke out at the Coupang 32 Logistics Center in Seoknam-dong, Seo District, Incheon. The logistics center consists of Buildings A and B and a ramp area serving as the freight truck entrance and exit.
Fire authorities maintained the national firefighting mobilization order issued on the day of the fire and continued suppression efforts, bringing the major flames under control around 8 p.m. that day, 61 hours after the outbreak.