Jodd Fairs blaze: 1 injured as 120 shops go up in smoke, vendors hit with 1.3m baht setback (videos)

A fire broke out at Jodd Fairs Rama 9 market in Bangkok yesterday resulting in a minor injury to a Thai woman. A total of 120 shops were obliterated, leading to financial losses of approximately 1.3 million baht for the vendors.

The fire was reported to police at about 4.21pm yesterday, December 13. Firefighters and rescue workers from Huay Kwang Fire Station rushed to the scene with three firefighting trucks. Officers reported that the fire started in a garment shop and later spread to nearby shops, releasing a huge plume of dark smoke that could be seen from miles around.

The situation was chaotic as traders rushed to get their goods out of the area as officers worked to get the blaze under control. Firefighters brought the incident under control within 20 minutes. A 21 year old woman choked on the smoke. She received first aid but refused to go to the hospital.

Parts of the market, including 120 shops, were destroyed. Most of the damaged goods were fashion items and clothing, which were the main fuel, causing the fire to spread quickly. The total damage was estimated at 1.3 million baht.

Huay Kwang District Chief Paitoon Ngammook said the closure period would depend on how quickly the market operator could improve safety measures in the area. He said the market would be closed for at least seven to 15 days, and the area would be declared a danger zone, with people banned from entering.

Paitoon added that the district would compensate the victims of the fire with cash payments of 11,000 baht per shop. He urged affected vendors to prepare their ID cards and venue rental contracts to access the money.

Paitoon also revealed that an officer had noticed a thief using the chaos as an opportunity to steal products from the shop. The person has already been arrested and is being questioned.

Compensation

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation by authorities, and Rod’s & Son Company, the venue operator, has not provided specific details regarding compensation for individual vendors.

A 27 year old Thai vendor named Napha informed Sanook that he was not present at the market when the incident occurred. While en route to the market, he learned about the fire through social media and immediately realised it likely originated near his shop.

Napha mentioned that he had not yet assessed the extent of his losses from the fire. He only observed from a photograph that a significant portion of his shop had been damaged. Faced with the uncertainty, he expressed concern as he had invested his entire savings, amounting to 200,000 baht, in the shop.

The Jodd Fairs market now has two branches in Bangkok, in the Rama 9 and Lat Phrao areas. The Rama 9 market was due to close at the end of this year due to the expiry of the venue rental contract, so the venue operator opened another market in the Lat Phrao area in preparation for the closure.

Jodd Fairs Lat Phrao took over Thailand’s first amusement park, Dan Neramit, which closed long ago. TimeOut reported that the market would operate there for five years.