In the early morning hours, a fire that broke out at Hyundai Rotem's battery research facility located in Samidong, Uiwang-si, Gyeonggi Province, was completely extinguished in just over two hours under the fire department's "Response Level 1" activation and swift response measures. Fortunately, there were no casualties.
At approximately 12:48 a.m., a fire that started on the first floor of the Hyundai Rotem battery research facility—an eight-story building with a total floor area of approximately 33,000 square meters—raised concerns about rapid spread. Immediately after the fire broke out, firefighting authorities declared "Response Level 1" due to concerns about the spread of combustion to upper floors and mobilized emergency firefighting operations with 37 pieces of equipment and 111 personnel.
Following desperate efforts by firefighting authorities, the fire was completely extinguished at 3:31 a.m., approximately 2 hours and 43 minutes after it started. Relevant authorities reported no casualties and expressed relief that despite the large-scale facility fire, the flames were controlled without major damage. Uiwang City sent disaster text messages twice at 2:05 a.m. and 2:18 a.m. to ensure residents' safety in the early morning hours and urged caution regarding smoke and odor generation.
Currently, police and fire authorities plan to investigate the exact cause and circumstances of the fire now that it has been completely extinguished. Given the special nature of the battery research facility, attention is focused on the investigation results regarding the specific cause of this fire and prevention measures for similar incidents.