"When I spat, it came out black like coal water. And there was black dust on my towel too."
Son Chun-hwa, 70, met at the annex auditorium of Sinhyeon Elementary School in Seohae District, Incheon, on the 20th, showed clear signs of exhaustion. She had not slept a wink, watching through her window as the Coupang logistics center in Seoknam-dong, just about 50 meters from her home, burned through the night. The flames at one point grew so fierce they turned blue, and rooftop structures fell amid a "boom" of an explosion.
Even on the third day of the fire, the daily lives of evacuated residents had not returned to normal. Lee, 72, a nearby resident, had tried to return home the previous night but turned back after seeing the flames surge again. "Just when it seems things are getting better, the fire spreads again," he said. "I'm even more anxious because I don't know when I can go back." Among the Red Cross tents packed tightly into the auditorium, residents with grim faces asked after one another's well-being.
Even while staying at the shelter, residents visited their homes several times a day to wipe away the dust. Black ash keeps piling up on walls and floors even with the windows shut. Son wiped down her home and washed herself that morning before returning to the shelter. "Even when I clean my car, black dust settles back on it right away," she said.
Complaints also emerged that the initial evacuation had effectively been left to the residents themselves. Kim Young-soon, 69, a resident of Dongnam Apartment, went back and forth between the apartment complex and the school several times on the day of the fire to evacuate neighbors living alone. "The neighborhood representatives went door to door and brought the residents out," Kim said. "Because it was a holiday, the evacuation of elderly people whose children were away from home was nearly delayed."
Nearby schools and daycare centers were also placed on alert. According to Seohae District, Sinseok Elementary School and 14 daycare centers were closed that day, and one kindergarten adjusted its schedule to focus on indoor activities.
The fire started at around 6:54 a.m. on the 18th on the sixth floor of the logistics center and spread to the seventh floor and the opposite side of the building. Authorities issued an evacuation order within a 116-meter radius of the site but had not set a time for lifting it. A Seohae District official said, "We will assess the firefighting situation and then hold a meeting to decide whether to maintain the evacuation order."
