20200213 Mandalay fire kills 5-year-old girl
Myanmar Nov 05 2020 “Apartment houses” “Building” “Houses”
Dead : dead 1 to 4 Burnout : 1 to 29 Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Mandalay fire kills 5-year-old girl
Updated: 2020–02–14
Staff clean up the destroyed houses after the fire. Kyaw Ko Ko/The Myanmar Times
A fire that broke out in temporary houses for city hall staff in Mandalay killed a five-year-old girl on Thursday, the region’s Fire Services Department said.
The fire started when a nine-year-old girl forgot about the rice she was cooking, and the wall of the house caught fire, according to fire officials at the scene.
One resident of the housing said the victim was sleeping in the house when the fire broke out and was not able to get out. “Her mother is a municipal employee who works the morning shift.”
Twenty fire engines, ten water boxers, three supervision vehicles, 30 support firefighters, and 70 reserves responded to the scene and were able to extinguish the fire after 20 minutes.
Thirteen housing units were lost in the fire, according to the department.
Seven fires in Mandalay city from February 7-13 caused more than K16 million in damage. Some firefighters and local people were injured.
The Mandalay City Development Committee has begun inspecting and repairing fire hydrants in preparation for a possible increase in fires during the summer months.
U Kyaw Zaw Aung of the MCDC said there are about 860 fire hydrants in Aung Myay Tharzan, Chan Aye Tharzan, Mahar Aung Myay, Chan Mya Tharsi, Pyigyitagun and Amarapura townships.
“We’re checking and repairing fire hydrants,” he said. “Township and ward officials and firefighters will request locations for additional fire hydrants if the budget is available.”
“We have to be careful as this region has hot weather,” he added. “We have also upgraded pipelines, and are connecting ward and township fire brigades.”
Mandalay Mayor U Ye Lwin said the city has allocated money for 28 additional fire hydrants. He added that the hydrants will be inspected every two months to ensure they are functional.
The MCDC is also holding discussions with factories that pump underground water on how to coordinate with firefighters.
Fires occur frequently in Mandalay during the summer months when the weather is hot and dry. Last month, a fire razed shops at the Sky Walk building in Yadanabon Market, causing an estimated K1 billion (US$690,000) in damage.
Last year, there were 276 fires in seven districts of Mandalay Region, resulting in three deaths, 26 people injured and 800 people losing their homes, according to the department. Damage was estimated at K430 million. – Translated
Web Source: The Nation
https://www.mmtimes.com/news/mandalay-fire-kills-5-year-old-girl.html