5년 만에 또 쿠팡 화재...이천 센터와 달랐나 / YTN

Government Emphasized Measures, But Recurrence Couldn't Be Prevented Incheon Logistics Center Also Features Large Area, Complex Shelving, and Narrow Aisles Investigation Needed into Whether Sprinkler Activation Was Delayed, Just Like 5 Years Ago [Anchor] This marks the first fire at a Coupang logistics center in five years since the fire at the Icheon center. Due to the structural characteristics of stacking goods for storage, a fire is bound to spread rapidly once it starts; however, the delayed activation of the sprinklers at that time exacerbated the damage. Reporter Lee Hyung-won reports on how things turned out this time. [Reporter] This is not the first time a major fire has occurred at a Coupang logistics center. In 2021, it took five days to finally bring the flames under control at the Icheon center in Gyeonggi Province, but one firefighter involved in the firefighting efforts lost his life. What aggravated the damage at that time was the delayed activation of the sprinklers. Due to frequent malfunctions, the fire alarms were turned off multiple times, and the sprinklers only activated 20 minutes after the fire started. In addition, the massive scale inherent to logistics centers and their maze-like interiors made firefighting efforts difficult. In particular, the structure, where goods were stacked tightly on three-tiered shelves, was inevitably vulnerable to fire. [Park Su-jong / Head of Disaster Prevention Division, Icheon Fire Station, Gyeonggi Province (in 2021): "It wasn't an open path inside, but a maze structure. Because there were conveyor belts and shelves, it wasn't a structure where you could enter in a straight line; you had to keep turning to get in..."] Since then, the government stepped in to inspect fire safety management practices at logistics centers and emphasized the need for countermeasures, but they were unable to prevent recurrence. The Incheon logistics center where the fire broke out this time was also extremely large in area, and the flames spread uncontrollably due to the complex shelving and narrow passageways. [Jeon Jae-in / Head of 119 Disaster Response Division, Incheon Western Fire Station: As this is a large warehouse with a three-tier shelving structure, a large quantity of combustible materials were stored there. Due to the high temperature and thick smoke, it is extremely difficult to secure visibility inside and for firefighters to enter.] However, whether the sprinklers failed to activate in time, as they did five years ago, is a point that needs to be clarified through further investigation. [Baek Seung-ju / Professor, Department of Fire Protection and Disaster Prevention, Open Cyber ​​University: Tens of thousands of sprinkler heads are installed at the logistics center in question. This is because the area is vast. Even if sprinklers are installed, if they fail to activate properly in the initial stages to extinguish the fire once it starts, they become useless in a large building like this.] Furthermore, given the repeated occurrence of large-scale fires, it appears necessary to examine whether the business owner fulfilled their responsibilities to prevent accidents, including whether there were any loopholes in the management and supervision of the logistics center. This is Lee Hyung-won from YTN. Video Reporter: Kang Bo-kyung Video Editor: Kwak Young-ju YTN Lee Hyung-won ([email protected]) ※ 'Your Tip Becomes News' [KakaoTalk] Search for YTN and add the channel [Phone] 02-398-8585 [Email] [email protected] ▶ Original Article: https://www.ytn.co.kr/_ln/0103_202607... ▶ Send a Tip: https://mj.ytn.co.kr/mj/mj_write.php ▣ Subscribe to YTN YouTube Channel: http://goo.gl/Ytb5SZ ⓒ YTN Unauthorized reproduction, redistribution, and use of AI data are prohibited.