Wood boiler suspected of starting Goseong forest fire
Police and forensic service officials inspect the site believed to be the origin point of a blaze in Goseong, Gangwon Province, Saturday, after it took 12 hours to put out the forest fire in the county. / Yonhap
By Jun Ji-hye
The overheating of a wood-fuelled boiler at a house in Goseong, Gangwon Province, is believed to have started a fire that destroyed an estimated 85 hectares of forest in the county, according to police and the fire authorities, Sunday.
On Friday at 8:04 p.m., the fire started in the house and is believed to have spread to nearby forest land due to strong winds. The forest fire forced the evacuation of over 2,000 people including local residents and soldiers stationed in the northeastern border town.
Local firefighters called for help from nearby cities, and it took 12 hours to put out the fire. No casualties have been reported.
About 40 officials from Gangwon Provincial Police Agency, Gangwon Fire Headquarters and Korea Electrical Safety Corp. began examining the fire site Saturday, placing weight on the possibility that the boiler caused the forest fire.
Police set up a separate facility for inquiries and the investigation into the incident.
“We will concentrate on finding out the direct cause of the fire promptly,” a Gangwon Provincial Police Agency officer said. “We will also work to support the victims of the fire in cooperation with the Goseong County Office.”
Investigators are collecting evidence from the site to send to the National Forensic Service for analysis, they said, adding that they are not ruling out the possibility of another cause for the fire.
With the fire growing quickly in gusts of wind, 329 residents and 1,876 soldiers belonging to the Army's 22nd Infantry Division were evacuated to nearby elementary schools.
The fire burned 85 hectares of forest, a military guard post, a cowshed and two greenhouses.
The residents and soldiers returned to their homes and barracks, Saturday, after the fire had been put out.
“I express my gratitude to the local authorities for their efforts to evacuate the residents quickly and extinguish the fire throughout the night,” Interior and Safety Minister Chin Young said. “I ask the authorities to spare no efforts to prevent re-ignition.”
The fire in the mountainous county of Goseong came about a year after the region suffered another catastrophic forest fire that also spread far and quickly due to strong winds.
At the time, the devastating blaze that affected around 250 hectares of forest caused one death and at least 11 injuries, as well as damage to numerous buildings and houses.