Fire at Incheon Coupang warehouse defies national mobilization order; one firefighter injured

A major fire at a Coupang Inc logistics center in Incheon has prompted authorities to issue a national firefighting mobilization order, but thick smoke and vast quantities of stored goods are hampering efforts to bring the blaze under control.

The fire broke out at around 6:54 a.m. Saturday on the sixth floor of Coupang Inc's Warehouse No. 32 in Seoknam-dong, Seohaegu, Incheon. The building is an eight-story reinforced-concrete structure with a total floor area of 299,000 square meters.

As the flames intensified, fire authorities escalated their response in stages. At 9:15 a.m. they issued a Level 1 alert, mobilizing all personnel from the local fire station. At around 12:25 p.m. they raised it to Level 2, calling in equipment and crews from five to six neighboring fire stations.

At 3:15 p.m., the National Fire Agency issued a national mobilization order, deploying firefighting resources from other provinces. A total of 142 pieces of equipment — including aerial ladder trucks and unmanned firefighting robots — along with 386 firefighters from Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, North Chungcheong Province, South Chungcheong Province and Gangwon Province are now at the scene.

Progress has been slow, however, as household goods packed tightly on three-tier shelving burn and fill the building with large quantities of toxic black smoke, delaying firefighters' entry and suppression efforts. The black smoke billowing out of the building blanketed the sky, prompting a wave of emergency calls from nearby residents.

The 121 workers and staff inside the building at the time of the fire evacuated on their own, averting mass casualties. One firefighter in his 40s who was operating an aerial ladder truck inhaled smoke during the suppression effort and was transported to a hospital by paramedics; he is currently receiving hyperbaric oxygen treatment.

The Incheon Seohaegu district office sent a public safety alert urging residents and operators of facilities serving vulnerable populations to keep their windows closed and avoid going outside due to the large amounts of smoke and particulate matter generated by the fire. Fire authorities said they plan to investigate the exact cause of the fire and the full extent of the damage once the initial blaze is contained.