Palm oil factory fire in Patthalung causes over 3 million baht in damages

A palm oil factory in Patthalung was engulfed in flames, resulting in losses exceeding 3 million baht. The blaze required assistance from several water trucks to bring it under control.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Paradanan Meeboon, the duty inspector of Patthalung’s City Police Station, received a report of a fire at the palm oil factory along the Patthalung-Hat Yai Road in the Tha Khae district. He rushed to the palm oil factory fire scene together with Wisut Thammapetch, the provincial administrative organization’s president, and Oranong Songsomphan, the district chief officer.

Four fire engines from the provincial administrative organization and municipal authorities were mobilised to the scene. The fire was raging within the palm oil factory and thick black smoke could be seen from a distance. The firefighters quickly began to douse the flames and after roughly half an hour, the fire was under control.

Upon investigation, it was found that the palm oil factory fire had started at the oil press where workers were boiling raw palm oil in a 10-tonne tank using firewood for heat. However, due to high oil acidity, the oil overflowed from the heated tank and fell into the fire, causing the flames to spread throughout the tank and resulting in billowing black smoke.

From interviews, 42 years old Amphon Nuthim, the supervisor, and Somsak Jitrak, the manager, provided consistent information that the fire was caused by the overflow of acidic raw palm oil when heated. Initial estimates suggest that the damage is not less than 3 million baht, reported Sanook.

A major fire recently struck a large paper recycling factory in Ayutthaya, causing damage estimated at over 30 million baht. The fire, fueled by over 1,000 tonnes of stacked paper, took firefighters more than two hours to extinguish. Read more HERE.

Over 50 fire engines and a team of 100 firefighters rushed to extinguish a fierce warehouse fire in Nonthaburi, managing to overcome the blaze in just 90 minutes. Read more HERE.

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