A fire destroyed about 200 employee service apartments of the Thai-Italian Development on Petchaburi Road last night, with several workers reportedly receiving minor injuries.
The fire started at an apartment in the zone A of the campsite, home to approximately 1,000 workers. A total of 50 fire trucks were deployed to the scene as workers were seen running and moving their stuff out of the camp.
Police believe a short circuit was the cause of fire, as the resident of the apartment where the fire broke out was not at home and had left his phone charging.
It took about two hours to put out the flames, which ended up destroying about 200 out of 600 apartments on the 16,000 sq m site. The apartments were mostly built from wood and iron sheets, causing the fire to spread quickly, according to Nation TV.
According to rescue volunteers, several people received minor burns, with some also suffering smoke inhalation and cuts from the iron sheets. Luckily, no one was killed.
Prasert Pompadech, 52, a foreman who has lived at the service apartments for six years, said that around 11pm other workers woke him up to help put out the fire at apartment no. 5 in the zone A, but they could not control the flames.
Forensic officers will be brought in to determine the cause of fire as the investigation gets underway, Morning News reported.
