Eight people, including six firefighters, were injured
Flammable liquids stored at a Bucheon factory may have helped a fire spread rapidly Friday, fire authorities said. Eight people were injured, including six firefighters.
The factory had no record of a permit to handle hazardous materials, though investigators have yet to determine whether the substances found there required one.
Bucheon Fire Station said it found about 100 containers, each with a capacity of 20 liters, holding petroleum products and other Class IV hazardous materials. Their combined capacity was about 2,000 liters, but authorities have yet to determine how much material was actually inside.
“The factory had no record of ever receiving a permit to handle hazardous materials,” a fire official said. “We will need to investigate further to determine whether the flammable substances it had on site were subject to permit requirements.”
Fire authorities suspect that large quantities of hazardous materials, including thinner and paint stored at the site, helped the fire spread rapidly.
Regulations set a designated quantity for each type of hazardous material as the threshold for permit requirements. Materials exceeding that quantity must generally be stored or handled at authorized facilities.
However, the capacity and number of containers alone do not establish the actual amount stored or whether the factory violated the law.
Although the factory had an automatic fire detection system, it had no sprinklers, according to local reports. The building’s floor area fell below the threshold for mandatory sprinkler installation.
The fire broke out at 8:38 a.m. Friday on the third floor of the five-story factory building and was fully extinguished at 11:06 a.m. Six firefighters and two factory employees were injured, with two firefighters sustaining serious injuries.
One of the seriously injured firefighters was taken to a hospital in cardiac arrest, while the other regained consciousness during treatment.
Gyeonggi Gov. Choo Mi-ae visited the site Friday and thanked firefighters for their response.
“I am grateful for the courage, dedication and hard work of the firefighters who responded immediately to this unforeseen accident,” Choo said.
“Factories like these are scattered throughout Gyeonggi Province, beyond Bucheon’s clusters of small factories,” she added. “We will identify workplaces handling hazardous substances in advance and strengthen preventive education and enforcement.”
Fire authorities are working with police and other agencies to investigate the exact cause of the fire, how hazardous materials were stored and handled, and why the flames spread so rapidly.
shwang9@heraldcorp.com