Fire engulfs homes in Phnom Penh village

Sam Serei Mum, 45, looks at remains of her house that was burnt in a fire yesterday morning Meanchey district's Boeung Tompun commune. Sreng Meng Srun

A fire tore through a village in Phnom Penh’s Boeung Tompun commune for the second time in just over a year yesterday, destroying 18 homes and displacing 24 families.

Meanchey District Deputy Governor Di Rothkhemarum said the blaze began around 6am and quickly engulfed many of the wooden houses in the district’s Tnot Chrum III village. Firemen, municipal Military Police, municipal police and residents worked for about two hours to extinguish the fire, according to officials.

“Authorities, including the experts, have not been able to determine the cause of the event yet, but in the primary step, authorities concluded that it might be caused by an electrical malfunction,” Rothkhemarum said.

No one was hurt in the blaze, which was the second to hit the village in just over a year. Last June, 34 houses in the same area were also destroyed in a fire.

Flames spread through a cluster of homes in Phnom Penh’s Boeung Tompun commune yesterday morning

Yan Sreypov, 26, who lost her home in yesterday’s fire, said she and her siblings were getting ready for work when the flames “just popped up” from a house. “I was very scared,” Sreypov said. “I tried to gather everything out of my house and I ran to help people extinguish the fire.”

Sim Sreymom, 45, whose house was also destroyed, said she first spotted the flames around 6am.

“I am not clear about the cause, but some people said that one aunty was using old wires that led to the malfunction while there were petrol cans inside the house,” she said.

Soth Koemsoeun, The Phnom Penh Post
Tue, 15 August 2017