A fire that broke out at a paint materials warehouse in Ulsan was extinguished after about four hours. The flames spread to nearby villas, leaving one resident dead and four injured.
According to fire authorities on the 3rd, at about 8:20 a.m. a fire occurred at a paint company's materials warehouse in Sam-san-dong, Nam-gu, Ulsan. The fire is believed to have started in a two-story above-ground warehouse with a total floor area of 280.5 square meters.
As paint and other flammable substances inside the warehouse ignited, the fire rapidly spread throughout the building. The flames then extended to two adjacent villa buildings, an auto repair shop behind it, and one more nearby villa building.
A woman in her 60s who lived on the third floor of the villa next to the warehouse died in the incident. A male warehouse employee in his 60s was seriously injured and transported to a hospital, and three villa residents were also injured and received treatment before returning home.
Thick black smoke blanketed the area, prompting residents and merchants to evacuate and causing brief chaos in the neighborhood. Staff at the repair shop also evacuated outside the building in case the fire spread.
Fire authorities issued response level 1 and deployed 292 personnel and 73 pieces of equipment to fight the blaze. They brought the main flames under control 38 minutes after the fire broke out, but the remaining flammable materials inside the warehouse delayed mop-up operations. They then used heavy equipment to dismantle the building and continued the firefighting effort, fully extinguishing the fire at 12:26 p.m.
Police and fire authorities believe the fire started while a forklift was operating inside the warehouse and are investigating the exact cause and the extent of property damage.