The call for great fire safety awareness follows a fire breaking out at a Chinese cemetery in Phuket Town ‒ now nearly an annual tradition during the outset of the dry season.
“Because the weather is extremely hot at the moment and there are strong winds at times, officers are on duty and monitoring the situation 24 hours a day,” Phuket City Municipality said in its announcement.
Phuket Town residents in need of help or want to report a fire were urged to contact the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation branch on Kra Rd at 076-211111, or the national 24-hotline 199.
Karon Municipality has also called for people to practice great fire safety after firefighters were called to douse a brush fire beside the road from Karon to Patong late Monday afternoon (Feb 17).
Firefighters were also called to douse a blaze at the entrance to Nui Beach last Friday (Feb 14).
“We are requesting cooperation from the public to be careful and prevent grass fires,” Karon Municipality said.
Although in response to PM2.5 levels blighting dozens provinces in Central and Northern Thailand, Phuket Vice Governor Adul Chuthong on Jan 24 issued a provincial ban on all agricultural burning.
The ban followed an order by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Anutin Charnvirakul.
The provincial order clarified that setting fires or allowing them to spread in national parks, wildlife sanctuaries or forest reserves is illegal under the Forestry Act. Offenders face four to 20 years in prison, fines between B400,000 and B5 million, or both.
Additionally, under Section 220 of the Criminal Code, anyone who causes a fire that endangers people or property, even unintentionally, can be sentenced to up to seven years in prison and fined up to B40,000, the order said.