February has been the month of fires.
In the first two weeks, there have been 106 incidents that have displaced about 4,000 people, according to numbers reported in the Voice Weekly. The statistics are on track to meet or surpass those in January, when 162 fires affected an estimated 870 people.
“People need to have fire extinguishers and to inform fire service departments in time” so that destruction can be mitigated, an official was quoted as saying. “Moreover, it will be best if we can have fire extinguishing systems from the air for those places which have difficult transportation infrastructure.”
The worst blazes occurred in Shan State and Irrawaddy Region on February 4.
