Late-night blaze guts Phuket home in suspected power fault
Residents flee as emergency crews battle flames at private villa
A fire tore through a two-storey home in Kathu, Phuket, late on Thursday night, causing extensive damage but fortunately no injuries, as three residents managed to escape just in time.
The blaze broke out around 11.45pm on Thursday, October 16, at a property in Soi 8, Anuphas Golf Ville, Kathu subdistrict. Police Lieutenant Colonel Natthaya Suphanphong from Kathu Police Station received the emergency call from the 191 Phuket Provincial Police hotline and quickly dispatched officers to the scene.
Kathu Police Superintendent Colonel Pratuang Phonmana and Deputy Inspector Lieutenant Karan Huaihongthong also rushed to the site along with the crime suppression unit and a motorcycle patrol team. Upon arrival, they found the home, a 200-square-wah detached house, engulfed in flames, with thick smoke pouring from the upper floor.
Firefighters from Kathu Municipality arrived promptly and battled the blaze, eventually bringing it under control before it could spread to neighbouring properties. Despite the intensity of the fire, no one was injured.
The residents, identified as Thai national Liwan Saffner, her Swiss husband, and her sister, were all asleep inside the home at the time. According to Liwan, the family was awakened by a strange sound resembling electrical sparks, followed by smoke seeping from the second-floor bedroom.
“We heard a crackling noise and saw smoke, then we rushed to wake everyone and escape.”
Moments later, flames engulfed the upper level, leaving it almost entirely destroyed.
Officers estimate the damage at around 10 million baht. While the ground floor sustained some damage, the second floor was left severely charred and uninhabitable, reported The Phuket News.
Initial investigations point to an electrical short circuit in the bedroom as the likely cause. Forensic officers have been called in to conduct a detailed investigation and confirm the origin of the fire.
The area has been cordoned off pending the outcome of the forensic examination.
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