Pyeongtaek City Holds Emergency Response Meeting Following Cheongbuk-eup Warehouse Fire
Pyeongtaek City (Mayor Choi Won-yong) held an emergency response meeting on the 18th to implement comprehensive follow-up measures and prevent secondary damage related to the warehouse fire involving hazardous materials and toxic chemicals in Cheongbuk-eup that occurred on the 11th, and has activated a full-scale response system across all divisions and departments.
The fire occurred at approximately 00:03 on August 11th at a storage warehouse in Tojin-ri, Cheongbuk-eup. No casualties were reported due to swift initial evacuation procedures. The city immediately activated an integrated support headquarters and implemented proactive emergency response measures, including constructing containment barriers at 8 locations to block fire suppression water and hazardous substances from entering public waterways.
As of August 17th, 64 water spraying trucks have been deployed to collect approximately 3,700 tons of contaminated water. The city has completely blocked discharge pipes and storm water manholes at the facility to prevent inflow into streams.
To minimize secondary environmental pollution and resident damage, the city plans to establish and implement response strategies for each division and department without disruption.
The city maintains a 24-hour round-the-clock surveillance system to protect public waterways and plans to implement follow-up measures including tracking and managing water quality changes, establishing a 'medical support team' to conduct health inspections for residents and workers near the fire scene, responding to farmland damage complaints, and requesting soil and agricultural water component analysis when necessary.
Mayor Choi Won-yong stated, "Preventing secondary damage such as water quality and soil contamination that may occur after fire suppression is of utmost importance. We will closely cooperate with related departments and organizations to minimize inconvenience to nearby residents and farmers and make every effort until the accident is promptly resolved."