On 7 January 2008, a fire occurred in Icheon, South Korea, killing 40 workers as they were injecting urethane foam into the walls of the 20,000 square-meter basement.[1] [2] [3] [4] It happened at a cool warehouse that was under construction at a refrigerated goods facility.[1] More than 500 firefighters fought the fire[3] from which witnesses claimed to hear multiple explosions. Along with thick black smoke, toxic fumes hampered interior-attack firefighting operations. Holes were subsequently drilled in the roof to allow the toxins and smoke to escape.[5]
It was the deadliest fire in South Korea since the Daegu subway fire on 18 February 2003, which killed 192 people.[1] A different fire in Icheon on 29 April 2020 killed 38 people.