Blazing Fire Ignites at South Pattaya Labour Encampment

Published : August 14, 2010 :: 13:08:27 [ 2,292 views ]

Blazing Fire Ignites at South Pattaya Labour Encampment

A blazing fire ignited at a South Pattaya labour encampment on Friday night. Fortunately, the construction workers who reside at the site had not been present when the fire occurred due to a suspected electrical fault.

Pattaya, the 13^th of August 2010 [PDN]: At approximately 7:30pm, Major Kriangklraiwut Buakla (Pattaya Police Investigator) was informed that a fire had occurred at a labour encampment behind the Marine Hotel in Soi Yensabai/Soi Sunee. Three engines from the Pattaya Fire Department were immediately dispatched to the scene to contain the blaze along with the Sawang Boriboon Rescue Foundation.

At the scene, a labour encampment behind the Marine Hotel, an intense fire was blazing in the middle of a collection of wooden/corrugated iron shacks built to house local construction site workers and their families. Concerned residents and tourists were attempting to douse the flames with buckets of water and garden hoses.

Thanks to the fast response of the Pattaya Fire Department, the blaze was contained to the labour camp, with only minor aesthetical damage done to the surrounding buildings. Firemen took approximately 30 minutes to extinguish the blaze with approximately 20 shacks at the labour encampment being destroyed in the fire. Initial estimates state that approximately Bt500,000 worth of property damage and lost possessions was caused by the blaze.

Several witnesses to the incident explained that no one was present at the labour encampment at the time of the fire, with all workers usually returning from the nearby construction site at approximately 9:00pm.

At present investigative officers, believe that the fire was due to an electrical fault in one of the encampment shacks, with various unnamed witnesses claiming to have observed a spark or flash before the fire ignited.

Investigations will continue into finding the cause of the fire, while the site foreman has been informed of the incident.