Blazing squad! Foreigner’s 4×4 goes up in smoke on Pattaya street
Quick-thinking locals douse engine fire as mystery expat flees flaming motor
A startled foreign driver was left red-faced, and nearly well-done, after his SUV burst into flames on a busy Pattaya road at lunchtime, triggering a dramatic roadside rescue.
Emergency crews and volunteers raced to Thai Udom Road in Naklua just after midday, yesterday, July 16, responding to reports of a car fire at the intersection with Phothisan Road.
When they arrived, firefighters from the Sawang Boriboon Thammasathan Foundation, backed up by a water truck and local volunteers, found a blue-grey Mitsubishi Pajero billowing smoke from the engine bay, its bonnet scorched and smouldering.
But thanks to lightning-fast action from nearby residents, the fire was already under control. Bystanders had grabbed a chemical extinguisher and put out the flames before they could engulf the entire vehicle.
Firefighters gave the engine a final blast of water to stop the blaze reigniting, and the scorched SUV was later towed off to a local garage.
Pattaya News reported that the driver, described as a foreigner with limited Thai, told rescuers he had just filled up at a Bangchak petrol station, made a quick stop at Makro, and was heading back to his accommodation when he noticed smoke rising from the engine.
“I pulled over and popped the hood,” he reportedly told officials. “That’s when nearby residents jumped into action, stopping a potential fireball in its tracks.”
No injuries were reported and the exact cause of the blaze is still under investigation.
Meanwhile, Thailand’s roads are seeing more than their fair share of automotive infernos.
On June 27, a Bangkok rush hour turned into a traffic inferno after a silver Toyota sedan erupted in flames on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road near Soi 22, paralysing traffic as fire crews battled the blaze.
And on July 6, during the final day of the Bangsaen Grand Prix, TikTok clips surfaced of a flame-spitting sedan casually cruising along a pedestrian footpath beside Bang Saen Beach, engine bay sparking like a stunt show as stunned bystanders watched on.
One local fumed: “This isn’t Fast and Furious, it’s just bloody stupid!”
The driver of the so-called “fire-breathing sedan” is reportedly facing a hefty fine.
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