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Yesterday (the 4th), three large fishing boats anchored in the harbor in Jeju caught fire and were told that the fire had been extinguished.

It was a narrow port with many ships, so it was necessary to prepare for a fire, but the firefighting equipment on the site was old and neglected.



This is JIBS reporter Dong-eun Kim.



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The scene with the lights out is literally miserable.



Only one fishing boat that has melted so much that it is hard to recognize its shape is barely floating in the water, and the other two are sinking.



The Coast Guard and the fire department have started the first investigation into the cause of the fire.



A detailed investigation, including the location of the initial ignition, will be carried out by salvaging the entire hull to land.



[Jaeah Ko / Chief Scientific Investigation Division, Jeju Provincial Maritime Police Agency: We are looking for ignition sites mainly on the deck.

It is difficult to enter the engine room now.]



This is because Jeju's harbor is so narrow that many fishing boats are densely moored one after another.



[Choi Im-gyu/Chairman of Jeju Shipowners Association Offshore Streak: 5~6 ships, 7~8 ships are attached in one line.

If there is an accident in the middle, there is no way.]



I checked the fire extinguishers installed right next to the accident site, saying that it will strengthen the initial response to fires on fishing boats.



Full of old and neglected fire extinguishers.



It is not even known when the inspection was made, so it is not known whether it is actually working.



In order to respond to fires on fishing boats, where initial suppression is the key, fire-fighting facilities have been prepared in various parts of Port Ports in the province, but they are not being properly managed.



In the Seogwipo area alone, about 50 fire extinguishing facilities have been installed in Hangpo-gu, but fishermen do not even know where they are located.



[Fishing vessel officials: You need to know what is installed, and if you move, you have to educate them to move, nobody knows.]



97% of fishing boats in Jeju are made of fiber-reinforced plastic FRP that does not extinguish easily.



In addition to investigating the exact cause of this fishing boat fire, various inspections are required to increase the ability to respond to the initial fire.



(Video coverage: Yoon In-soo JIBS)