The fire started in the underground parking lot... Yard boxes that have become 'fire-starters'

<Anchor>

There was a place to load and unload goods in the parking lot on the first basement floor where the fire broke out.

The fire spread quickly as the boxes piled up here caught fire, and it was presumed that it was difficult to evacuate and rescue because of the black smoke.

The cause of the damage is reported by TJB reporter Lee Soo-bok.

<Reporter>

Paper boxes are piled up on one side of the underground parking lot.

Another wall is loaded with compressed waste paper boxes.

This is a yard built by Daejeon Hyundai Outlet on the first floor of the underground parking lot.

Fire authorities believe that the fire started at the loading dock on the east side, quickly moved to a pile of boxes, and turned into a large fire.

It is explained that the smoke emitted from burning of flammable items such as paper boxes and clothing enveloped the entire building, increasing damage and making it more difficult to extinguish the fire and search for the missing.

[Lee Seung-han / Daejeon Yooseong Fire Station Field Response Team Leader: There are a lot of loading boxes, so it is estimated that a lot of soot came out as they burned rapidly.]

Both the sprinkler and the exhaust facilities were working normally, but it was not enough to catch the smoke.

It is also a part to look into whether fire prevention facilities are properly installed.

The rapidly spreading black smoke made it difficult for people to evacuate, increasing damage.

[Escape Employee: I was trying to get out of the car, but I couldn't get out because the front was blocked by black smoke, so I only came up with my cell phone...

.]

Daejeon Hyundai Outlet, which has been open for about two years, was excluded from the local government's national safety examination because it was not an old facility and a high-risk facility.

When the fire department inspected the Hyundai Outlet three months ago, the fire department pointed out 27 items to be supplemented, including malfunctioning guidance lights.

However, he did not point out the part about storage in the underground parking lot.

This is because there are no related regulations in the Basic Firefighting Act.

[Sejin In/Professor of Fire and Disaster Prevention Department, Woosong University: Sort by product name, stack them, and prohibit handling of fire.

There are no specific standards for facilities at all.]

(Video coverage: Choi Woon-gi TJB, Park Geum-sang TJB, screen provided: Song Young-hoon)