Massive fire destroys fashion logistics centre in South Korea, causes delays in product deliveries
On Saturday (15 Nov) at around 6.10am, a fire broke out at the E-Land Fashion Logistics Center in South Chungcheong Province, South Korea.
After receiving a report, the fire department issued a Level 1 alert, but later raised it to Level 2 after the flames worsened.
Source: JoongAng Daily
It took nearly 10 hours to control the fire, but the flames have not been completely put out even after two days.
According to Chosun Daily, the logistics centre has five levels, with a total floor area of 193,210 square metres, where the fire spread.
Clothing items inside warehouse worsened fire
After issuing a Level 1 alert, the fire department deployed firefighters from the relevant fire station to the scene.
However, as the warehouse was filled with highly flammable clothing items, the flames worsened.
At approximately 7.01am, the alert was raised to Level 2, mobilising personnel from all nearby fire stations.
150 pieces of equipment, including 11 fire helicopters, and 430 personnel from fire stations in the cities of Cheonan and were deployed.
Source: News1 via Chosun Daily
Authorities said 75,000 litres of water were sprayed into the building per minute to extinguish the flames, the Hankyoreh reported.
The fire was controlled at around 3.30pm on the same day, approximately 9 hours and 30 minutes after it broke out.
Level 2 was later lifted at 7.30pm, and Level 1 was lifted at 9:51am the next day (16 Nov).
Logistics centre remains ablaze after two days
According to a Hankyoreh report on Sunday (16 Nov), an E-Land representative stated that the damage is yet to be assessed as the fire has not been completely extinguished.
Fortunately, the fire broke out before work began, so there are no casualties.
All three employees in the building, including the security guard who reported the fire, evacuated safely on their own.
Meanwhile, a fire official explained that they were having difficulty extinguishing the fire completely as the intense heat had caused the building to partially collapse.
Source: Seoul Shinmun
“The building has partially collapsed, making it impossible to enter the interior,” they said, adding that they are continuing to put out the fire from the outside.
The official also said that while it will take some time to eradicate the fire, they are not expecting it to spread.
Police and fire officials are reportedly planning to investigate the exact cause of the fire and the extent of the damage after the fire is completely quelled.
Fire at logistics centre affects several brands
According to JoongAng Daily, the E-Land Fashion Logistics Center stores products from 10 brands, including New Balance and SPAO.
Following the incident, the company has announced that the delivery of some products will be delayed, including a disruption to their Black Friday event next week.
New Balance Korea also announced on its website that the shipment of some orders will be delayed “due to an unexpected delay issue in the logistics centre operation schedule” and apologised for the inconvenience.
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Featured image adapted from JoongAng Daily and News1 via Chosun Daily.
