Ansan fire factory spreads to nearby plants, burns for more than eight hours
A fire at a cardboard-box factory in Ansan, Gyeonggi, spread to nearby factories on Sunday night, and firefighters have been battling the blaze for more than eight hours. No casualties have been reported.
Firefighters work to extinguish a fire at a cardboard-box factory in Danwon District, Ansan, Gyeonggi, on the night of June 7.
GYEONGGI FIRE AND DISASTER HEADQUARTERS
A fire at a cardboard-box factory in Ansan, Gyeonggi, spread to nearby factories on Sunday night, and firefighters have been battling the blaze for more than eight hours. No casualties have been reported.
The fire broke out at about 9:05 p.m. at the factory in Seonggok-dong in Ansan's Danwon District and quickly spread through a densely packed industrial area, according to the Gyeonggi Fire and Disaster Headquarters. Six workers at nearby factories escaped the area soon after the fire started.
Fire authorities declared a Level 1 response at 9:10 p.m., five minutes after the first report came in, and raised it to Level 2 at 9:48 p.m. as the flames continued to spread. Level 2 brings in personnel and equipment from neighboring fire stations.
After working through the night, crews brought the fire largely under control and lowered the response to Level 1 at 4:30 a.m. on Monday. More than eight hours after it began, they were still putting out hot spots, with 79 pieces of equipment and 241 personnel deployed.
The fire damaged 11 buildings in all, including the two-story factory where it started, which has a floor area of 928 square meters (9,990 square feet).
"Nearby residents are asked to close their windows, and vehicles should detour onto surrounding roads," the Ansan city government said in an emergency alert text sent to residents after the fire broke out.
Fire authorities and police plan to investigate the cause of the fire and the extent of the property damage once the flames are fully extinguished.
BY KO SEUNG-PYO [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
