Fire in high rise apartment rented by Indians in Thonburi - serious damage as 100 Thais and foreigners evacuated

[webfact]

Picture: Siam Rath

 

Fire services were called to a 42 story building on Charoen Nakhon Road in Thonburi, western Bangkok, after fire broke out in a 40th story bedroom.

 

The apartment was rented by an Indian family of five but no one was home at the time.

 

Siam Rath reported that at 1.30pm yesterday more than 100 Thai and foreign residents of the block were evacuated.

 

The fire was extinguished within 15 minutes but a bed and household items were severly burnt in the gutted bedroom. 

 

A fire caused by an electrical malfunction is the most likely cause.

 

The family renting the room are being sought. 

 

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[HuskerDo2]

"The family renting the room are being sought. "......

 

Check the airport. They're on the quickest flight out of the country.

[Screaming]

In my tower condo building the Thai management turn off the lights in the stairways at night to save money. These ignorant (which are most) Thais do not care about the fire escape being too dark to escape a fire but would rather save a little money for themselves. The Thais only care about money, nothing else matters to them.

[swm59nj]

It doesn’t matter what nationality they are. Luckily no one residents or emergency personnel were harmed.  

 

[steven100]

At first I was thinking they forgot to turn off the Tandori Chicken ....   but as no one was home then it wasn't that.

And if the Thai police are looking for the family that rented it ...  try some tables outside a nearby 7-11 or failing that try Mumbai.

[DJ54]

Sometimes there are the strangest comments….. 

[hotchilli]

15 hours ago, steven100 said:

At first I was thinking they forgot to turn off the Tandori Chicken ....   but as no one was home then it wasn't that.

And if the Thai police are looking for the family that rented it ...  try some tables outside a nearby 7-11 or failing that try Mumbai.

Maybe they had a slow cooker?

[tomazbodner]

There are a lot of low quality electrical products for sale in Thailand. Both online and at online merchants. Often those are very poorly made, especially the ones mimicking brand name products, which carry a significant risk of electrocution and fire. Phone chargers with very poor separation between high and low voltage sides, or items crammed into too small space to look like the real thing, causing lack of ventilation/overheat can quickly turn into disaster.

Thailand doesn't seem to be doing much to stop imports of this rubbish, mostly from China, nor do customers care how much buying a cheap knock-off can cost them.

This fire starting in bedroom, there could be some appliance was left turned on and overheated due to malfunction, or maybe left on blanket, blocking ventilation holes, but I believe in the end it will quite likely come down to some poorly constructed USB charger overheating and bursting into flames.

 

For insensitive comments about finding the Indian family... It's holiday season. Maybe they simply went traveling. Try to put yourself in their shoes - you return home just to find that your place burned down... Good feeling? Doubt that.