A floating boom was put in place around the Dong Won 701 to contain any possible spillage from the vessel.

It is hoped a fire burning on a Korean fishing vessel docked at the Port of Timaru has finally burnt out after almost a week, but crews won't know for sure until they re-enter the boat tomorrow.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) South Island assistant area commander Rodger Smith said crews had been working through the weekend closely monitoring the temperature of the ship as they tried to finally bring the fires under control.

"We're continuing to apply water jets to the outside parts of the vessel.

JOHN BISSET/STUFF Fire crews will re-enter the Dong Won 701 on Monday to check if the fires have burnt out.

"Logistically these sorts of fires are always challenging but we've got firefighters from Dunedin, Invercargill, Wellington, as well as locals to assist," Smith said.

READ MORE:

* Fishing boat staying put

* Port operations resume

* TAIC inquiry begins

The 70-metre Dong Won 701 Korean fishing vessel caught fire about 9.30pm on Monday.

Since then emergency services crews and authorities have been working to bring the fire under control and minimise its impact on the harbour and operations at the port.

Smith said the plan now was for fire crews to re-enter the boat, which was sealed on Friday in an effort to contain the fires, on Monday.

"We can't guarantee that all the fires are out but we're pretty confident that they are," he said.

Smith said once the fire was out, Fenz would cease its involvement with the vessel.​​

The incident is being investigated by the Transport Accident Investigation Commission. </s> Attempts are under way to suffocate the fires still burning on the Korean fishing vessel in the Port of Timaru.

Towing a burning Korean fishing boat out to sea from the Port of Timaru has been deemed too dangerous.

The 70-metre Dong Won 701 caught fire while docked at the port on Monday night and authorities have been struggling to extinguish the fires since.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) South Canterbury area manager Steven Greenyer revealed on Friday that one option considered was towing it out to sea, but this has been deemed too dangerous.

1 of 20 JOHN BISSET/STUFF Water is sprayed on the fishing vessel Dong Won 701 that is on fire in the Port of Timaru. 2 of 20 JOHN BISSET/STUFF Water is sprayed on the fishing vessel Dong Won 701 that is on fire in the Port of Timaru. 3 of 20 JOHN BISSET/STUFF 13042018 News JOHN BISSET/STUFF. Ship fire The fishing vessel Dong Won 701 is still smoking as firefighters continue efforts to extinguish the fire. 4 of 20 JOHN BISSET/STUFF Water is sprayed on the fishing vessel Dong Won 701 that is on fire in the Port of Timaru. 5 of 20 JOHN BISSET/STUFF Firefighters on board the Dong Won 701 that caught fire while docked in the Port of Timaru on April 9, 2018. 6 of 20 JOHN BISSET/STUFF Firefighters prepared to board the Dong Won 701, a Korean fishing boat that caught fire in the Port of Timaru on April 9, 2108. 7 of 20 JOHN BISSET/STUFF Water is sprayed on the fishing vessel Dong Won 701 that is on fire in the Port of Timaru. 8 of 20 DOUG FIELD/STUFF Steam and smoke can be seen rising from the Korean fishing vessel Dong Won 701 at the port of Timaru on April 11, 2018. 9 of 20 DOUG FIELD/STUFF Water is sprayed on the burning fishing vessel Dong Won 701 at the Port of Timaru on April 11, 2018. 10 of 20 DOUG FIELD/STUFF Water is sprayed on the burning fishing vessel Dong Won 701 at the Port of Timaru on April 11, 2018. 11 of 20 DOUG FIELD/STUFF Water is sprayed on the burning fishing vessel Dong Won 701 at the Port of Timaru on April 11, 2018. 12 of 20 DOUG FIELD/STUFF Water is sprayed on the burning fishing vessel Dong Won 701 at the Port of Timaru on April 11, 2018. 13 of 20 DOUG FIELD/STUFF Water is sprayed on the burning fishing vessel Dong Won 701 at the Port of Timaru on April 11, 2018. 14 of 20 JOHN BISSET/STUFF Water is sprayed on the burning fishing vessel Dong Won 701 at the Port of Timaru on April 10, 2018. 15 of 20 JOHN BISSET/STUFF Water is sprayed on the burning fishing vessel Dong Won 701 at the Port of Timaru on April 10, 2018. 16 of 20 AURORA BOURASSA/SUPPLIED The Korean fishing vessel Dong Won 701 on fire at the Port of Timaru on April 9, 2018. 17 of 20 JOHN BISSET/STUFF The Korean fishing vessel Dong Won 701 on fire at the Port of Timaru on April 9, 2018. 18 of 20 JOHN BISSET/STUFF The Korean fishing vessel Dong Won 701 on fire at the Port of Timaru on April 9, 2018. 19 of 20 JOHN BISSET/STUFF The Korean fishing vessel Dong Won 701 on fire at the Port of Timaru on April 9, 2018. 20 of 20 JOHN BISSET/STUFF The Korean fishing vessel Dong Won 701 on fire at the Port of Timaru on April 9, 2018.

"We had permission to tow the ship out to sea, but when you've got a major fire on the front part of the ship, you can't tow it forward... towing it from the stern would have meant turning the ship around into the wind meaning the fire would have come back into the rest of the ship and also placed the tugs in danger," Greenyer said.

READ MORE:

* Port operations resume as fishing boat fire burns on]

* TAIC begins inquiry into ship's fire in Port of Timaru

"The other issue was if we towed it out and it sinks in the channel then that closes the port, so that was really a last option.

JOHN BISSET/STUFF A close up of fire damage to the Korean fishing boat, Dong Won 701, in the Port of Timaru.

"If the ship had to sink then it's better that it sinks alongside here (the wharf), rather than out in the channel."

PrimePort chief executive Phil Melhopt said port operations were largely back to normal. There were no more delays to ships arriving in port, he said.

"We're mostly out of the woods, but there is still a lot of work going on to smother the two fires," Melhopt said.

JOHN BISSET/STUFF The fishing vessel Dong Won 701 is still smoking as firefighters continue efforts to extinguish the fire.

Greenyer said the fires had been contained but there were two still burning in the ship and attempts to suffocate them began on Friday.

"One is still burning in the cargo hold, while another is in the front the boat."

Greenyer said things like the port holes and doors were being sealed up to help starve the fires of oxygen.

DOUG FIELD Korean fishing vessel Dong Won 701 at Timaru Port

"We're still finishing work to try and smother the fire.

"We're also using a sealing agent (high expansion foam) to seal up doors and any holes so we can starve the fires of air, and then they're more likely to go out.

"The accommodation area of the ship and half of the internal area is burnt-out or badly damaged. The rear part of the ship is still intact."

JOHN BISSET/STUFF At least five fire crews battle a blaze on a fishing vessel at the Port of Timaru on Monday night.

A tug boat carrying firefighters is also still being used to cool the sides of the ship.

"We anticipate that this will take some time to fully extinguish."​

Greenyer said about 20 fire crew members were still attending the blaze, with some coming from as far south as Dunedin.

MYTCHALL BRANSGROVE/STUFF The fishing vessel Dong Won 701 photographed at 11.20am on Thursday at the Timaru Port. It is still smoking as the fire onboard remains to be extinguished.

As the battle to extinguish the fires continued, Environment Canterbury (ECan) has declared a Tier 2 response, under the Maritime Transport Act 1994, which allows it to manage the potential risk of oil or other contaminants getting into the harbour water.

"We have trained responders closely monitoring the situation and will mobilise them should the need arise," said ECan's on-scene commander for marine oil spills, Richard Purdon.

"In addition specialised containment and collection equipment is in place and ready for use if needed.

MYTCHALL BRANSGROVE/STUFF More than 20 fire crew and a host of Timaru Port and Environment Canterbury are attending the ship's fire.

"For now it's a monitoring operation. No oil has escaped from the fishing boat."

Fenz is continuing to douse the fire from the outside to reduce the risk the boat could move or sink.

"The area close to the boat is considered too dangerous for our responders to work in. As soon it is safe to do so, we will deploy a boom around the vessel to contain any potential spill, reducing the risk of environmental harm," Purdon said.

The Dong Won 701 is owned by Dong Won Fisheries and the company's chief executive, Tae Wang, said on Wednesday it was continuing to work with the port and safety authorities while also attending to the welfare of the ship's crew. </s> At least five fire crews battle a blaze on a fishing vessel at the Port of Timaru on Monday night.

Witnesses report hearing a loud bang when a fishing ship caught fire at the Timaru Port.

Ten fire crews and a tug boat are fighting the blaze at the front of the 81-metre Dong Won 701 fishing vessel docked next to the San Won building.

Fire and Emergency NZ southern communications shift manager Tim Reynolds said 10 fire crews including one from Christchurch were responding to the incident, which started about 9.25pm.

JOHN BISSET/STUFF The ship is docked next to the San Won cool stores building in Timaru.

Do you know more? Email newstips@stuff.co.nz.

He said the ship, the Dong Won 701, was "well involved in flames", but all persons from the ship were accounted for.

JOHN BISSET/STUFF Firefighters from around South Canterbury are being called to the burning ship in Timaru's harbour.

Reynolds said fire crews were still actively dealing with the fire as of 11.50pm, and had not confirmed it was contained yet.

He said the size of the response was due to the size of the fire, and he expected at least some of the crews would be there overnight.

A St John spokesman said three patients had been taken to Timaru Hospital with minor injuries. They were checked for smoke inhalation.

SUPPLIED Emergency services are responding to a large ship fire at Timaru Port.

A police spokeswoman said emergency services were called to the fire about 9.25pm.

Police were there as "essentially a bit of crowd control on land", she said.

Soosie Lucas, who lives opposite the port, said there was a "loud bang" when the ship caught fire.

JOHN BISSET/STUFF Fire crews battle to bring a fire under control on a fishing boat in the port of Timaru

"It boomed all around the port, it was a big loud bang."

Lucas said "very thick and dense" smoke was spewing from the ship when the fire started, but it had been dampened down by the rain.

There was a traffic jam forming from people coming down to look at the fire, Lucas said.

An eyewitness said there was "a heavy emergency services presence", with at least five fire trucks, a command unit, and three ambulance on scene.

She said a crowd of people were looking on from behind the fence, despite the cold and rainy night.

The Dong Won 701 is a South Korean fishing vessel which arrived in port on Monday morning, and was due to leave on Tuesday. It was one of the boats involved in an employment court action in 2014 for paying crew below the minimum wage.

Its owned by Korean fishing company Dong Won Fisheries. Its website said it has over $150 million USD annual revenue, operates a seafood processing plant in China, and a specialised seafood processing company in called San Won in Timarua [sic], New Zealand. </s> A fishing ship fire in Timaru Port has been contained but fire crews will stay on board through the day.

Last night 10 fire crews fought the fire on the 80m Dong Won 701 fishing vessel docked at the South Canterbury port.

Three crew members have been treated for smoke inhalation.

A Timaru District Council webcam showed a large amount of smoke coming from the port last night after the fire broke out about 9.30pm.

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🚒 TIMARU PORT - Crews from Christchurch have been called to assist a ship on fire at the port of Timaru. Webcam view here:https://t.co/RZuQD6DcFi pic.twitter.com/jDOcxYNlvm — Christchurch Live (@03alert) April 9, 2018



A Fire and Emergency spokesman said this morning the fire had been contained but seven crews would stay there for most of the day.

Dozens of onlookers watched the fire last night. </s> Fire crews are battling a blaze onboard a ship at the Timaru Port.

A Fire and Emergency spokesperson said 10 fire crews from Timaru and the surrounding area were fighting the fire.

Three people are being treated for smoke inhalation after a fire broke out on the ship they were onboard at Timaru Port.

Emergency services responded to the fire around 9.30pm.

A Fire and Emergency spokesperson said no one is now on the vessel and the fire is not at risk of spreading. </s> Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Firefighters tackle the blaze in Miryang

At least 37 people have been killed and about 130 injured in a fire at a hospital in South Korea.

The blaze is thought to have started in the emergency room at Sejong Hospital in the south-eastern city of Miryang.

Nearly 200 patients were inside the building and an adjoining nursing home when the fire broke out in the morning.

It is South Korea's deadliest fire in almost a decade and the death toll is expected to rise with several of the injured in critical condition.

Firefighters said the victims appeared to have died from smoke inhalation. Three hospital medical staff - a doctor, nurse and nursing assistant - are among the victims.

Authorities have given varying death tolls, with police earlier saying 41 had died. But the officials later corrected this, saying some victims were counted twice.

The fire completely gutted the hospital's first floor, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reports.

Miryang is about 270km (168 miles) south-east of the capital, Seoul.

'Falling over and screaming'

The hospital specialised in caring for elderly people with long-term needs, as well as other patients, reported the daily JoongAng Ilbo - and reports suggest many patients would have been too ill or old to escape alone.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The fire completely gutted the hospital's ground floor

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Many of those inside the burning building were elderly

The paper quoted a surviving patient, Jang Yeong-jae, as saying that he was on the second floor when nurses screamed "Fire!" in the hallway and urged people to evacuate.

"But when I opened the exit door, the whole stairway was filled with dark smoke and I couldn't see a thing," he said.

"Everybody was running around in panic, falling over and screaming as smoke filled the rooms."

Mr Jang said he ripped open window screens and escaped down a ladder put up by firefighters.

"There were so many elderly patients on other floors... I wonder if they escaped safely," Mr Jang's wife was quoted as saying.

Fire chief Choi Man-woo told reporters the cause of the fire was not yet known.

The hospital building did not have any fire sprinklers installed, local media said.

Under current laws, the building was not required to have sprinklers, but they were in the process of being fitted in the adjoining nursing home.

A new law that is due to come into force on 30 June will make sprinklers compulsory for nursing homes.

Image copyright EPA Image caption Most of the casualties were due to smoke inhalation

Mr Choi said the fire started around 07:30 local time (22:30 GMT on Thursday) and was put out in about three hours.

Ninety-four patients from the adjacent nursing home were safely evacuated.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in arranged an emergency meeting to discuss ways of dealing with the fire.

Senior officials from both governing and opposition parties travelled to Miryang to offer their condolences and call for a thorough investigation.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption It is not known what caused the fire

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Scores of patients were inside the building and a neighbouring nursing home

The hospital has been operating since 2008 and about 35 medical staff work there, according to provincial officials.

The fire comes just a month after 29 people in the South Korean city of Jecheon were killed in a blaze at a public gym.

The owner and manager of the building were later arrested over multiple safety lapses, including malfunctioning sprinkler systems. </s> Firefighters are still struggling to contain a huge blaze that is covering 1900 hectares near Nelson on New Zealand's South Island.

"We don't have total control of that area, we're just fortunate it didn't actually grow yesterday," Fire and Emergency New Zealand's John Sutton told media on Thursday.

"But I would expect by the end of the day, we'll be able to say that we have containment," he added.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who visited the region on Thursday, said seeing the fire up close was confronting.

"While I'm immensely relieved there's been no loss of life and want to thank all of those involved in tackling this immense fire, it's clear there are going to be some difficult times ahead until we get the fire fully under control and people back to their homes," she said in a statement.

So far emergency services confirmed that one property was destroyed while more than 400 people had to evacuate 183 homes when the inferno approached.

Richard Kempthorne, the mayor in the Tasman district in the north of New Zealand's South Island, said evacuations would likely remain in place for a few days.

Investigators believe that a contractor ploughing a paddock in Pigeon Valley, about 30 kilometres from Nelson, accidentally started the fire on Tuesday.

No injuries have been reported but 13 sheep had to be put down. </s> SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A fire swept through a hospital in southeastern South Korea on Friday, killing more than 30 people and injuring dozens in one of the country’s most deadly fires in recent years.

Fire official Choi Man-wu said in a televised briefing that the fire at Sejong Hospital in the city of Miryang killed 31 people and injured 77, eight of them in critical condition.

The fire started from the first floor of the hospital at 7:35 a.m. and was extinguished at 10:26 a.m., Choi said. The cause of the fire is under investigation

He said a total of 194 people had been hospitalized in two buildings of Sejong Hospital, including 94 elderly people who were hospitalized in the nursing hospital, before the fire broke out.

Sejong Hospital has a nursing hospital for the elderly and also offers regular medical services.

South Korea is one of the fastest-aging countries in the world and has many nursing hospitals, which are preferred for elderly people who long-term doctors’ care.

Yonhap news agency says the hospital has 193 beds including 98 beds for the elderly who needs nursing care with 35 medical staff.

In late December, 29 people were killed in a fire that tore through an eight-floor building in the city of Jecheon in central Seoul. It was the country’s deadliest blaze over the past decade before the hospital fire.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> Firefighters work as smoke billows from a hospital in Miryang, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 26, 2018. The hospital fire causes scores of casualties and injuries, according to a fire agency official. (National Fire Agency/Yonhap via AP)

SEOUL: A fire swept through a hospital for the elderly in southeastern South Korea on Friday, killing more than 30 people and injuring dozens in one of the country's deadliest fires in recent years.

Fire official Choi Man-wu said in a televised briefing that the fire at Sejong Hospital in the city of Miryang killed 31 people and injured 77, eight of them in critical condition.

The fire started from the first floor emergency room of the hospital at 7:35 a.m. and was extinguished at 10:26 a.m., Choi said. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

He said a total of 194 people had been hospitalized in two buildings of Sejong Hospital, including 94 elderly people who were hospitalized in the nursing hospital, before the fire broke out.

President Moon Jae-in's office said Moon convened an emergency meeting with top advisers to discuss the fire. But it gave no further details.

Sejong Hospital has a nursing hospital for the elderly and also offers regular medical services. The hospital has 193 beds including 98 beds for the elderly who needs nursing care with 35 medical staff, according to Yonhap news agency.

South Korea is one of the fastest-aging countries in the world and has many nursing hospitals, which are preferred for elderly people who need long-term doctors' care.

Several recent fires in South Korea have been deadly.

In late December, 29 people were killed in a building fire in central Seoul, which was the country's deadliest blaze over the past decade before the hospital fire. Last weekend, a fire at a Seoul motel killed six people, and police arrested a man who allegedly set it ablaze in anger because he had been denied a room for being heavily drunk.

In 2014, a fire set by an 81-year-old dementia patient killed 21 at another hospital for the elderly.
Firefighters contain a fire on FV Dong Won 701 in the Port of Timaru, New Zealand. The ongoing blaze, which broke out yesterday, has injured three people.