Hankuk Carbon factory fire brought under control

A fire that broke out at Hankuk Carbon's Factory 2 in Miryang, South Gyeongsang, was extinguished after raging for six hours on Friday. No casualties have been reported. The South Gyeongsang Fire Department announced that the fire in the chemical...

Fire trucks are parked on a road next to Hankuk Carbon factories in Miryang, South Gyeongsang, on Friday. [YONHAP]

A fire that broke out at Hankuk Carbon's Factory 2 in Miryang, South Gyeongsang, was extinguished after raging for six hours on Friday. No casualties have been reported.

The South Gyeongsang Fire Department announced that the fire in the chemical factory was extinguished as of 11:08 a.m. Friday.

The fire began at 4:57 a.m. the same day, and was spreading to a nearby forested mountain when the fire authorities arrived. All factory employees were evacuated safely.

Fire authorities issued a level 1 emergency response alert at 5:13 a.m. and elevated it to level 2 at 6:16. A level 2 alert mobilizes firefighters of fire stations in the region.

More than 80 vehicles and aircraft, including fire trucks and helicopters, and 326 firefighters were dispatched to the scene, and the alert level was lowered back to level 1 as of 9:42 a.m.

The fire burned down a factory building that measures 4,230 square meters (1 acre).

The fire authorities initially had difficulty quelling the blaze as the fire spread to combustible urethane foams.

They plan to investigate the details of how the fire started, after extinguishing the small remaining fire in a storage yard.

BY SOHN DONG-JOO [sohn.dongjoo@joongang.co.kr]