Evacuations ordered as Coupang warehouse blaze in South Korea fuels collapse fears

Evacuation orders were issued late on July 19 around Coupang's Incheon logistics center as a massive warehouse fire raged out of control, shattering earlier hopes of containing the blaze by 11 p.m. local time. Concerns mounted that the eight-story building could collapse.

An emergency alert sent by Seohae-gu advised residents within a 116-meter radius, including nearby businesses, to evacuate immediately due to the risk of partial building collapse. Officials clarified that the collapse risk zone primarily covered commercial buildings and factories south of the logistics center, with no residential areas directly affected.

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Due to the risk of partial building collapse from the Coupang fire, residents within a 116m radius, including nearby shops and offices, are asked to evacuate immediately.

The fire ignited at 6:54 a.m. on July 18 on the sixth floor of the 299,000-square-meter fulfillment center. It quickly spread to the seventh floor via exterior walls. All 121 workers inside evacuated safely, though one firefighter was hospitalized for smoke inhalation and another treated for exhaustion.

Fire officials had initially aimed to control the main blaze by 11 p.m. on July 19, but the fire's intensity and the accumulated heat and thick smoke prevented crews from entering the building. Efforts to create access points, including demolishing parts of the structure and tearing down exterior walls, proved insufficient. Helicopters conducted water drops before sunset, but heavy smoke continued to emanate from the building, indicating interior temperatures remained dangerously high.

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Sending firefighters inside is only possible when overall safety conditions are in place. High temperatures that have built up over a long period remain, and ventilating just some sections doesn’t mean smoke across the entire building will clear.