House fire kills family of 3 and 12 pets in central Thailand

A blazing fire engulfed a house in Pathum Thani province in central Thailand last night killing a couple, their one year old child, and 12 pets.

At 1am today, officers from Thanya Buri Police Station were informed of a house fire in Pruksa Village Khlong 8 in Thanya Buri district. Police, firefighters, and rescue workers from the Por Teck Thung Foundation rushed to the scene.

The entire one-storey house had already gone up in flames when firefighters arrived. It took about an hour to get the fire under control.

Inside the bathroom, officers found the bodies of 43 year old Sing Nuana, 40 year old La-ong Nuana, and their one year old boy Sinamahad Nuana. The remains of 11 cats and one dog were also found in the house.

The house was secured with iron bars, which might be the reason the family couldn’t escape in time, said the police. Police and firefighters are working together to figure out the exact cause of the fire.

A neighbour, 35 year old Wanisa Nokkasak, told police the fire started around midnight. She said she heard a loud noise and hurried outside to see what happened.

Wanisa said she saw a fire inside the house and expected Sing, La-ong, and Little Sinamahad to be trapped because their house is secured tightly with iron bars. Wanisa said that Sing was an air conditioner technician so the equipment in the house may have acted as fuel for the fire, causing it to spread quickly.

Police Captain Satra Seekham from Thanya Buri Police Station said a doctor from Thanya Buri Hospital performed a preliminary autopsy at the scene. The Por Teck Tung Foundation took the deceased’s bodies to undergo a thorough autopsy at Thammasat Hospital, added the police officer.

On Saturday, a fire ripped through an abandoned sports centre in Pattaya, Chon Buri province, eastern Thailand. No injuries were reported.