Major fire at recyclable waste company in Phitsanulok

BANGKOK: A fire raged on a mountain of recyclable waste at the headquarters of a large waste recycling business in Phitsanulok province in the early hours of Friday (Jan 26).

It took over 20 fire engines and dozens of firefighters a few hours to contain the fire at Wongpanit International Co Ltd, in the northern province’s Muang district.

Wongpanit is a large waste recycling business with more than 2,000 franchise branches across the country.

Initial investigation suggested that electric short circuit at a power pole next to the garbage pile might have started the fire.

There were no reports of casualties.

The district chief, Akrachok Suwannathong, said on Friday that the fire began at around 2am and witnesses said it was started by sparks from short circuits at a power pole next to the mound of waste.

It was a hill of over 50 tonnes of recyclable waste as high as a five-storey building, a source said.

The company’s main building, located just north of the waste mound, was spared any damage from the fire. Firefighters managed to contain the blaze before it could expand to a nearby community.

However, billows of smoke from the burning waste hill blanketed the adjacent residential area.

At around 8am, firefighters still had to train water sprays to smoldering pockets of fire in the waste hill.

An informed source said on Friday that it remained unclear whether an electric short circuit was the cause of the fire, adding that relevant officials would examine the scene after the blaze was extinguished to determine the cause. - The Nation/ANN