A large fire broke out on Wednesday evening in the Klong San district of Bangkok at a two-storey condo building.
The major incident took place in Soi Samdet Prachao Taksin 23, and saw the occupants of 76 households safely evacuated to Wat Samakkhi and Wat Santi Thammaram.
Phongsakorn Kwanmuang, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) spokesperson announced the details on his Facebook page shortly after the blaze.
The fire was reported to Bang Sam Re station police at around 8pm. Firefighters and fire-fighting equipment were quickly dispatched to the scene from Talad Plu Fire Station to bring the situation under control.
By the time they arrived, the condo building of 50 units and four buildings which are adjacent to it had already been lost after being set alight. Firefighters were impeded by the narrowness of the soi and an inadequate supply of water nearby, which saw them dousing the flames for two hours and employing 10 water hoses to tackle the inferno.
Three rescue staff were reported to have suffered slight injuries while evacuating people, after being hit by falling debris from the affected structures.
With police now conducting an investigation to ascertain the chain of events, Phongsakorn Kwanmuang gave more details of the rescue efforts: “Thonburi district staff have also helped, providing sleeping bags, blankets and other necessary items to the evacuees,” he said in an update to his original Facebook post.
