Pattaya man left homeless by mosquito coil fire (video)
A fire erupted at a makeshift residence in Pattaya due to a resident inadvertently leaving a mosquito coil burning. The same resident had previously caused a fire at the same location last year while smoking and handling gasoline.
Pattaya police were alerted to a blaze at an unnumbered dwelling opposite the Pattaya Provincial Court on Thapphraya Road yesterday, January 13 at 7am. Following the alert, police coordinated with Pattaya’s disaster prevention team and dispatched a fire truck to the scene. Reporters from The Pattaya News were also on site to cover the incident.
Upon arrival, a crowd comprising locals and foreign tourists had gathered to witness the event. Officers discovered the fire fully engulfing a small, custom-built, makeshift hut.
Firefighters worked for over 30 minutes, spraying water to prevent the fire from spreading to adjacent shacks and custom-built homes, eventually managing to contain the blaze.
Neighbours informed The Pattaya News that the affected property belonged to 49 year old Somrak Kwanrueng, who lived alone. Somrak frequently collected cans and bottles under the house and occasionally set them on fire accidentally.
According to neighbours, this incident appeared to have started when Somrak left a mosquito coil burning near his sofa and forgot to extinguish it, leading to the rapid spread of the fire. A large amount of accumulated clutter and collected materials exacerbated the situation.
Somrak recounted to The Pattaya News that he had placed the mosquito coil near the sofa and then unintentionally dozed off. He awoke to find flames near his feet. Despite trying to douse the fire with water, he was unable to contain it and was forced to flee the house and call for assistance, reported The Pattaya News.
Somrak, undeterred by the incident, expressed his determination to rebuild his home for the third time.
In related news, a devastating fire consumed a family home, destroying over 100,000 baht in cash but miraculously sparing five baht of gold. The incident occurred yesterday afternoon, December 27, resulting in damages estimated at over 1 million baht.
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