Unsung hero! Farang firefighter praised for doing his bit for Thailand!

[webfact]

Unsung hero! Farang firefighter praised for doing his bit for Thailand!

 

Photo: Nittaya Charee

 

A Thai wife has gone online to post pictures and tell the story of her husband who is helping to put out fires in the north of Thailand.

 

And posters have been quick to react saying that the farang is doing more than most Thai people to stop fires.

 

Pictures showed the unnamed westerner trudging into the forest to put out fires and a conflagration raging in the undergrowth believed to be in the Lampang area.

 

Photo: Nittaya Charee

 

Nittaya Charee said on her page that the man concerned was not Thai and was in fact her husband. He is not part of an NGO and has no donations to use for his work - not one baht, said Nittaya.

 

He was doing all this using his own money because he wanted to help out.

 

There were no complaints from her husband despite pictures that seemed to show fresh wounds inflicted in the fire fighting.

 

Nittaya posted about the fires and smog generated from them that she said should be publicized as much as the 30 million baht lottery scandal, poacher Premchai and Toon Bodyslam the charity runner.

 

She said that the people should be the eyes and ears for the authorities and condemn those who set fires.

 

Nittaya and subsequent Thai posters called the unnamed farang an unsung hero for doing more than most Thai people and standing up for Thailand.

 

Source: Facebook Nittaya Charee

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2018-03-06

 

[mercman24]

YES i am waiting, who is going to be first, not me. well done that man, i have said before there are thousands of retired highly qualified farangs in this country, with a wealth of knowledge, to pass on for free, but THAI  knows best, not want advice on anything., that is why this country will never join the 21st century,

[roo860]

He was pictured last year helping. [emoji106]

Sent from my SM-G920F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[DrTuner]

That's one way of keeping fit and busy. So who starts those fires?

[yellowboat]

Many decent people cannot just stand by, watch and do nothing when they can do the simplest thing; poor water on a fire. 

[RichCor]

1 hour ago, DrTuner said:

So who starts those fires?

Farmers clearing their land.

 

A few years ago I was recruited to help put out a secondary fire on the extended family's mountain property after airborne debris lit on dry leaf debris from the trees. Got tired of hauling buckets so rushed home and got the Songkran supersoaker and reserve tanks and used that to knock down the hotspots.

[Henrik Andersen]

2 hours ago, DrTuner said:

That's one way of keeping fit and busy. So who starts those fires?

Thai people ofcores 

[HLover]

21 minutes ago, yellowboat said:

Many decent people cannot just stand by, watch and do nothing when they can do the simplest thing; poor water on a fire. 

Or smother it with a blanket.

[canopy]

While it is an admirable goal, there are a few problems. I would imagine all of the fires he is putting out have been set deliberately so he is making enemies on each occasion. I wonder how frequently the arsonists just go in the next day and start a new fire where they left off. Vigilante's putting out fires doesn't seem like it could solve the burning problem. Stopping the burning needs will power from the government that sadly isn't there. They just sit around monitoring all the fires by satellite and do nothing other than tell the people how bad the air is getting. It seems extremely unlikely our generation will see good air quality year round or the forests able to thrive in northern Thailand.

 

[balo]

He should be more worried about his health at that age, if he is not wearing a protection mask . 

[coulson]

Where is his work permit?

 

()

 

Bloody falang stealing jobs, disgrace! 

 

On a side note, recently visited Phuket Internationals new terminal. Looks older than the original airport! - Halogens to uplight the ceiling, expansion joints putty' d with paint, the boarding bridge operator couldn't connect to the aircraft for 5 minutes, wayfinding a joke, smoking area exit beside a boarding gate, traffic to departures has to swing past arrivals plus a carpark the size if Suvarnhabhumi (for I don't know what) and every duct/ conduit is visible with not a single servuce line aligned to any train of educated iota....the list goes on and on.

 

Wealth of knowledge available in the Kingdoms ex pats,  still not interested.....carry on.

 

Back to OP,  good on him.

[ChouDoufu]

is this not illegal?

is it wise for the wife to post photos of her foreign husband,

shaming the thai authorities?

[ostyan]

I wonder when he will be visited by labour office for checking his work permit

[mickymouse1]

Thai law stipulates that foreigners are not allowed to do any work paid or unpaid without work permits?

I wonder what the relevant Authority  would say?

[Cabradelmar]

A good human being. Bless him for helping. A role model for all. He should be rewarded.

[rtco]

"visited by labour office for checking his work permit" ... "foreigners are not allowed to do any work paid or unpaid without work permits" ... "Where is his work permit?" ... yeh yeh we know all and it's been said a million times before so stop being so @#$%*? boring and give praise where praise is due.

Edited March 7, 2018 by rtco

[ostyan]

1 hour ago, Cabradelmar said:

A good human being. Bless him for helping. A role model for all. He should be rewarded.

I am pretty sure more falang, especially those who have been living here longer time would follow him. Most of us like Thailand. The only problem is the rigid and many times awkward Thai regulations. If you read any orders, leaving alone if they are about work or visa, they clear in one respect only, namely, how much falang has to pay if that falang fails to match a couple of hundreds contradicting regulations.

There were many cases, for example when two falangs repaired their own ship in their own yard and they were questioned about their work permit.

Immigration and labour regulations are outdated and contradicting.

[nutterz64]

Of course a reasonable person would not classify this as any kind of work... Not even volunteer work.   It is simply being community minded. Would it be work if during a raging flood a farang pulled a child or other person out of harms way?  I don't think so. Good on ya mate for doing the right thing.

Edited March 7, 2018 by nutterz64

[Just Weird]

3 hours ago, mickymouse1 said:

Thai law stipulates that foreigners are not allowed to do any work paid or unpaid without work permits?

I wonder what the relevant Authority  would say?

Why do you care, does it affect you in any way?

[TKDfella]

I am all for such people helping out in Thailand...gee whiz, it does need it. I applaud the gentleman. As other posters have pointed out there is a downside in more ways than one and I dare say that like others who have given help, I have been on that downside (though not seriously).

But on the topic of fires, how often does one see fires burning by the road side and no one standing by to keep it in check. I was in the Naklang (Nongbualamphu) area a couple of days ago where the sugar cane harvest is still going on. I could see clouds of black smoke in the distance and thought it was just another farmer burning the residue. It wasn't! What looked chopped trees were burning furiously and not on the connecting farmland but right by the roadside (dual carriageway). I pulled over and could see a couple of drivers had stopped, one using a phone. I assumed that he was calling the authorities (dangerous assumption here) and continued my journey. Whoever started the fire obviously didn't give a damn about the traffic.

[SupermarineS6B]

I'm surprised he hasn't been asked for his work permit. Had a mate a few years ago that volunteered to pull bodies out of the sea after the tsunami off Phuket, he was a commercial diver so it wasn't such a deal for him, he was refused because he didn't have a work permit !   ( The real reason is that he might of seen all the thieving going on)      

 

 

[Thongkorn]

20 hours ago, coulson said:

Where is his work permit?

 

()

 

Bloody falang stealing jobs, disgrace! 

 

On a side note, recently visited Phuket Internationals new terminal. Looks older than the original airport! - Halogens to uplight the ceiling, expansion joints putty' d with paint, the boarding bridge operator couldn't connect to the aircraft for 5 minutes, wayfinding a joke, smoking area exit beside a boarding gate, traffic to departures has to swing past arrivals plus a carpark the size if Suvarnhabhumi (for I don't know what) and every duct/ conduit is visible with not a single servuce line aligned to any train of educated iota....the list goes on and on.

 

Wealth of knowledge available in the Kingdoms ex pats,  still not interested.....carry on.

 

Back to OP,  good on him.

I have often worked in Thai hospitals for free. just a bit of fetch and carrying . Do you honestly think the police are going to prosecute a person doing work out of the kindness of there heart and for charity. Don’t listen to Bar room lawyers ..

[ChouDoufu]

51 minutes ago, Thongkorn said:

I have often worked in Thai hospitals for free. just a bit of fetch and carrying . Do you honestly think the police are going to prosecute a person doing work out of the kindness of there heart and for charity. Don’t listen to Bar room lawyers ..

it's not that someone is discreetly helping out, rather

his wife posted this on her facebook page for all to see.

 

wouldn't expect a visit from the work permit police

immediately, perhaps after he has a run in with one

of the neighbors, or maybe the IO has a really bad day

and recognizes the man who shamed thailand on his

next extension date.

renewal

[SupermarineS6B]

4 hours ago, Thongkorn said:

I have often worked in Thai hospitals for free. just a bit of fetch and carrying . Do you honestly think the police are going to prosecute a person doing work out of the kindness of there heart and for charity. Don’t listen to Bar room lawyers ..

Do you know it's illegal under Thai law to even roll your own cigarettes as it takes work away from Thais......... Check it out.........

[coulson]

6 hours ago, Thongkorn said:

I have often worked in Thai hospitals for free. just a bit of fetch and carrying . Do you honestly think the police are going to prosecute a person doing work out of the kindness of there heart and for charity. Don’t listen to Bar room lawyers ..

What he is doing is, unfortunately, illegal.

[Nowisee]

On 3/6/2018 at 3:10 PM, mercman24 said:

YES i am waiting, who is going to be first, not me. well done that man, i have said before there are thousands of retired highly qualified farangs in this country, with a wealth of knowledge, to pass on for free, but THAI  knows best, not want advice on anything., that is why this country will never join the 21st century,

 

I agree.  

Many times I have wanted to help out, volunteer and do things that are obviously not being done by a local, especially not for free.   

The being offended and losing face is just <deleted> stupid IMO.
Under specific situations I still do and everyone is fine and happy.

[KMartinHandyman]

Do you know it's illegal under Thai law to even roll your own cigarettes as it takes work away from Thais......... Check it out.........

I would think it means you can’t be employed as a cigarette roller and not prohibited to twist them up for personal consumption. You’re allowed to bring loose tobacco through customs but they stop you from rolling it into a cigarette once you’re in the country ? You can buy loose Thai tobacco but have to pay a Thai to follow you around and twist one up when you get the urge?

[HLover]

Sad, all photos in this article shows him alone.

No companionship, sharing water or food.