20161130 Big fire destroys traditional market in Daegu
Korea Mar 03 2017 “Stores”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : more than 70 Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Big fire destroys traditional market in Daegu
Updated: 2016-11-30 20:12
By Choi Ha-young
The largest traditional market in Daegu caught fire early Wednesday morning, destroying all the textile shops in one section of the market.
According to firefighters, a guard at Seomun Market first reported the fire at 2:08 a.m. The fire destroyed 839 stores in the fourth of six sections before being extinguished in the morning.
Parts of a four-story building in the section are also destroyed. Two firefighters surnamed Jang, 47, and Choi, 36, were injured while extinguishing the fire. No deaths or injuries have been reported.
The Daegu Fire Department suspects the flames originated from a shop located between the first and fourth sections of the market. Officials are investigating the cause of the fire and why the sprinklers did not work at that time.
The fire agency mobilized 870 firefighters and 97 fire trucks, as well as two helicopters to discharge water from the air, but they had difficulty putting out the blaze because of toxic smoke from burning textiles in the shops. The smoke covered a huge area of Daegu, with citizens from almost all parts of the city reporting burning smells to emergency services.
The fire is expected to cause huge financial losses to the shop owners, who had recently stocked piles of winter clothes, bedclothes and dress ornaments for seasonal sales.
Minister of Public Safety and Security Park In-yong visited the city. “Under the cooperation with local authorities, we will come up with emergency countermeasures including designating the market as a special disaster zone,” he said.
Seomun Market, which dates back to the Joseon Kingdom era, moved to its current location in 1922. Since then, it has caught fire many times. In December 2005, a fire in the second section of the market caused losses of around 60 billion won ($51.4 million).
Web Source：The korea times
http://koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2016/11/113_219203.html