Chiang Mai market blaze loss estimated at Bt100 million
THE DAMAGE bill from Friday's inferno that ravaged a building in downtown Chiang Mai's Waroros Market has been put at about Bt100 million. The hefty loss is a result of the building having four textile shops with stockpiles of clothes worth about Bt20 mil
The fire prompted Chiang Mai Governor Suriya Prasartbundit to order related agencies to inspect the safety standards of the other buildings in the market because this was the second fire in a month.
Forensic police officers, along with Public Works and Town and Country Planning officials, yesterday morning inspected the scene where there was still a smouldering fire on the second and third floors of the building.
Fire-fighters sprayed the floors with water to prevent the fire starting up again. The building and the road in front of it were sealed off.
As the affected shops were insured, the relevant insurance companies will assess the damage soon.
Pol Lt-Colonel Thanandon Wittayawutthikul, head of the Chiang Mai forensic police division, said the initial probe found that the building’s structure was severely damaged.
As a result, officers could only access some sections of the building on the ground floor, he said.
Thanandon said the police inspection of the CM Bazaar shop, where the fire reportedly started, had identified the point where the blaze started. Police would check the shop’s security camera footage to help them try and pinpoint the cause of the fire.
Paisal Surathamwit, the secretary of Nakhon Chiang Mai Municipality’s mayor, said as a precaution public works officials would inspect the building’s structure thoroughly, after stockpiled clothes were removed from the upper floors to reduce the stress on the floors.
RELATED