Phuket secondhand warehouse fire causes 10 million baht in damages

A secondhand goods warehouse located near Thepkrasattri Road, Phuket, was engulfed in flames yesterday, January 30, causing traffic congestion and an estimated 10 million baht (US$282,298) in damages. The fire reportedly began with a small flame used to smoke out beehives, which unexpectedly spread to the warehouse.

The blaze was reported to the Thalang Police around 2.30pm. Fire trucks initially dispatched from Srisoonthorn Municipality and Thepkasattri Municipality struggled to contain the fire, which had rapidly spread to the rear of the warehouse, causing extensive damage.

Subsequently, additional fire trucks were called from Thepkrasattri Subdistrict Administrative Organisation (OrBorTor), Cherng Talay Municipality, Cherng Talay OrBorTor, Mai Khao OrBorTor, Koh Kaew OrBorTor, Phuket City Municipality, and the main Phuket branch of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM-Phuket). A total of 15 fire trucks arrived at the scene, but it still took firefighters two hours to control the inferno, reported The Phuket News.

When firefighters arrived, the fire was burning fiercely from the roof at the back of the warehouse and spreading. The wooden roof structure and the flammable products inside the store continued to fuel the flames.

To facilitate firefighting efforts, Thalang Police temporarily closed Thepkrasattri Road southbound from the U-turn in front of the HomePro store to the Khao Lan intersection at Baan Lipon. The northbound lanes accommodated traffic in both directions while firefighters battled the fire, resulting in long traffic delays in both directions.

The owner of the warehouse, 32 year old Kamonchanok Bhiraban, revealed that she had initiated a small fire at the back of the warehouse to manage her beehives. The fire was left smouldering for hours before it began spreading.

When a neighbour alerted her to the spreading fire, Kamonchanok tried to extinguish it with a small fire extinguisher. Failing to control the flames, she reported the fire to the local municipality but claimed no one answered the call.

The authorities have yet to report their findings on the cause and spread of the devastating fire.