Battery storage fire at Dongkuk Steel Pohang ESS centre burns over a day

In June 2025 a fire of undetermined origin broke out in the electrical room of an energy storage system at the Dongkuk Steel Pohang ESS centre in Nam-gu, Daesong-myeon, Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. The building was a two storey steel framed structure housing thousands of battery modules. Fire services declared a Level 1 response and deployed around 30 vehicles and 62 personnel. No flames or smoke were seen escaping the building and no injuries were reported. Because firefighters found it difficult to enter the enclosed battery room safely, water was applied through windows and other openings using connected hose systems rather than by direct entry. Fire officials initially expected full extinguishment could take from one day up to several days given the characteristics of battery fires. A supplementary incident database record indicates the fire was extinguished after around 29 hours. The cause had not been confirmed at the time of reporting.

Not reported at the time of the source article. The cause was stated to be under investigation.

1. Battery storage fires in enclosed electrical rooms can burn for extended periods, so response plans should assume a multi-day incident may occur even if suppression proves faster.
2. Direct entry firefighting may not be feasible in a battery room, so room design should include external water injection points, openings suitable for hose deployment and controlled ventilation access.
3. Pre-incident plans agreed with the local fire service should set out how a large modular installation will be fought from outside, including water supply, staging areas and the scale of appliances and personnel likely to be committed for more than 24 hours.
4. Where a battery room is inside or attached to an occupied industrial building, evacuation and exclusion arrangements should be tested for a prolonged incident in which no flame or smoke is visible externally.

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