Jong-gu firefighters battle a fourth-floor fire at a storage building overlooking the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Far East District Compound in Seoul on Wednesday. (Courtesy of the U.S. Army)
SEOUL — About three dozen Jong-gu fire engines swarmed into and around the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Far East District Compound on Wednesday to battle a fourth-floor blaze in a building overlooking the compound’s wall.
Firefighters put out the flames in about an hour and reported no damage to the surrounding area, but fire chief Kim Sung-su said it could have been worse.
"I really appreciate that the U.S. military commander (Col. Clarence Turner) made a quick decision to open the gate for us," Kim said. "It made a big difference in minimizing the damage."
Had firefighters not been allowed onto the compound, access to the burning portions of the building would have been extremely limited due to a narrow alley separating it from the base wall, Kim said.
He said firefighters had been worried they wouldn’t be allowed to come onto the post because of "military security reasons."
Kim said the fire could have damaged the Army base or other buildings in the Dongdaemun market area if the emergency had gone unchecked longer.
Far East District spokesman Joe Campbell said that before the fire department arrived, workers from the compound were using hoses to extinguish burning debris that fell from the building’s windows onto the installation.
Kim said buildings in the area are very old and that their lack of modern fire-suppression systems puts them at risk.
He said the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Stars and Stripes reporter Jimmy Norris contributed to this story.
