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7 car fire in Najomtien not arson, police rule
Police forensic officials
inspect the scene of the fire.
Patcharapol Panrak
Authorities have determined that a Najomtien fire that started
in a BMW and spread to six other vehicles was due to faulty wiring and
not arson.
The Forensic Science Police Center Region 2 said the Oct. 14 blaze
outside the Kritsada Golden Condotel Cliff & Park started in wire
connections to the battery, a problem that had prompted BMW to recall
the vehicle earlier.
BMW announced in March that the battery cable in all its Series 5 and
Series 6 sedans may have been improperly installed, leading to
malfunctions ranging from the car not starting to fires. The company
said it notified owners in writing about the need for the 30-minute fix,
but owner Supat Ratanawathong, 51, either never got the warning or
ignored it. He told police he’d owned the vehicle for only a month.
Six other cars, including a Lexus and a Toyota hybrid, were damaged or
destroyed in the fire. Employees tried to douse the flames with a
chemical retardant, but were unsuccessful. Owners believed initially the
fire was intentionally set.
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