Investigating officers reported that a minivan, refuelled with the wrong type of fuel by a petrol station attendant, was behind the fire at a garage in Chon Buri on Sunday, July 13.
Residents living near the garage on Porn Prapa Nimit Road in Bang Lamung district were alarmed when the blaze broke out at around 3pm. Five fire engines rushed to the scene and took approximately 40 minutes to bring the fire under control.
Police reported that five vehicles were damaged in total, including a Toyota Alphard minivan and four pickup trucks. Two people sustained injuries, one suffered burns to the leg, while another sustained a hand injury from broken glass windows.
The 21 year old owner of the minivan, Tarn Saelor, told ThaiRath that the fire originated from his vehicle. He had been driving from Chon Buri to Bangkok and stopped at a roadside petrol station to refuel.
Unfortunately, the attendant mistakenly filled the tank with diesel instead of petrol. Other workers advised Tarn to have the incorrect fuel drained at a nearby garage.
Tarn stated that the garage technician had nearly completed the fuel removal process when a fire suddenly ignited and quickly spread to other parked vehicles. He and others at the scene fled in panic to save themselves.
Local police are now investigating the exact cause of the fire. Some online users speculated that someone nearby may have been smoking, which could have triggered the blaze.
In a separate incident, another car fire was reported in the southern province of Songkhla last week. The white SUV, which belonged to former Democrat Party MP Sirichok Sopha, initially appeared to have caught fire due to a suspected battery malfunction, an issue seen previously in electric vehicles.
However, police later found evidence suggesting the vehicle was deliberately set on fire and subsequently arrested a suspect. The suspect’s mother claimed her son’s actions were the result of mental illness, not politically motivated as the former MP had feared.
The story Wrong fuel refill on minivan leads to garage fire in Chon Buri as seen on Thaiger News.
