Coupang warehouse inferno burns into third day as firefighters battle to prevent lithium battery blaze
Emergency workers are struggling to contain the blaze as combustible goods, intense heat and lithium battery risks hamper access inside the logistics center.
Thick smoke rises from Coupang's Logistics Center No. 32 in Seohae District, Incheon, on July 20.YONHAP
A fire at a Coupang logistics center in Incheon continued to burn for a third day on Monday, with firefighters struggling to bring it under control because of the large volume of combustible goods stored inside, the warehouse's complex layout and concerns over structural collapse.
The blaze at Coupang's Logistics Center No. 32 in Seohae District, Incheon, was still burning as of 4:30 p.m. on Monday, according to Incheon Fire Headquarters. The fire first broke out at 6:54 a.m. on Saturday.
The flames are burning on the sixth and seventh floors of the warehouse, and fire authorities are racing to prevent flames from spreading to the fifth floor, where hundreds of warehouse robots powered by lithium batteries are stored.
"If the fire spreads there, the entire building could quickly become engulfed in flames," Hur Seok-kyung, chief of the Incheon Seobu Fire Station, said during a briefing on Monday.
The amount of lithium batteries stored on the fifth floor is estimated to be equivalent to those used in about 20 electric vehicles, officials said.
"Firefighters have entered the fifth floor, which has not yet caught fire, to prevent the flames from spreading," Hur said. "We have deployed 31 specialized vehicles, including aerial ladder trucks, around the building and are doing everything possible to suppress the fire."
Authorities are also using thermal-imaging drones to monitor heat buildup inside the warehouse, concentrating firefighting equipment in the hottest areas to prevent the fire from reaching the fifth floor.
The flames repeatedly flare up and subside, making them difficult to extinguish. Concerns that the building, with a total floor area of 299,000 square meters (3.2 million square feet), could collapse have prompted authorities to expand evacuation orders and widen access restrictions around the site.
Smoke and flames rising from Coupang's logistics center is seen from a nearby elementary school, which temporarily closed due to the fire, on July 20.YONHAP
Rain that began falling early Monday has done little to aid firefighting efforts. While it has helped cool the building's exterior, officials said the rain has been unable to reach the flames that have already spread deep inside stacks of products piled in the warehouse.
The fire started on the sixth floor, where three-level warehouse shelves are densely packed with household goods and other products. Hundreds of thousands of products packaged in cardboard boxes and plastic wrapping are reportedly stored on the sixth and seventh floors and continue to fuel the fire.
"The warehouse is packed with combustible materials, allowing embers to penetrate deep inside and reignite even after surface flames are extinguished," Kong Ha-sung, a professor of fire and disaster prevention at Woosuk University, said. "In this type of deep-seated fire, firefighters have to pull apart combustible materials to fully extinguish the flames, but entering the building is difficult because of safety concerns."
Introducing fresh oxygen into areas packed with combustible materials can further intensify the fire. Fire authorities believe outside air entered the building after the exterior walls and structural components were damaged, causing smoldering flames to reignite and spread.
The warehouse's complex interior and heavy smoke have also made it difficult for firefighters to locate the fire's source. Interior temperatures approaching 300 degrees Celsius (572 degrees Fahrenheit) have also prevented crews from safely entering the building.
Incheon Mayor Park Chan-dae receives a briefing from firefighters on July 20 about the fire at Coupang's Logistics Center No. 32 in Seohae District, Incheon.NEWS1
The risk of collapse remains another major concern. The warehouse is built using layered sandwich panels, which can lose structural strength after prolonged exposure to extreme heat. On Sunday, authorities ordered the evacuation of businesses and offices within a roughly 116-meter (380-foot) radius of the warehouse.
Firefighters have deployed two excavators to partially demolish sections of the warehouse, creating openings to vent smoke and inject more water.
Large logistics center fires have taken days to extinguish in the past. A fire at Coupang's Deokpyeong logistics center in Icheon, Gyeonggi, in June 2021 destroyed a warehouse with a total floor area of about 127,000 square meters and took six days to extinguish. Another fire at E-Land Fashion's logistics center in Cheonan, South Chungcheong, in November last year destroyed about 11 million clothing and footwear items and was fully extinguished after around 60 hours.
The Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency said Monday it established a dedicated investigation team to determine the cause of the recent Coupang fire and how it spread.
The 35-member team also plans to conduct a joint forensic inspection with the National Forensic Service once the fire has been extinguished.
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.
