Pattaya firefighters had their hands full overnight with two major blazes, one damaging a Walking Street hotel and the other razing a North Road warehouse.
There were no initial reports of injuries in either incident, the first of which hit the Pattaya Inn Hotel around 10 p.m. Monday Aug 31.
Two rooms of the 25-room hotel off Walking Street were gutted in the blaze that began on the third floor. The fire and heavy smoke sparked panic among the few tourists on Walking Street while drawing a crowd of gawking bar workers. Four fire trucks needed about 30 minutes to bring the blaze under control.
The manager, identified as Injai, said the two rooms were vacant at the time and were rented by two couples who worked on Walking Street. All their belongings were lost, although they were said to own little else than the clothes they came to town with.
Less than three hours later, ten fire trucks screamed north to Naklua where an inferno enveloped an unnamed warehouse and spread to adjacent apartments around 1 a.m.
Banglamung District and Pattaya City officials watched as firefighters battled the flames for more than two hours.
The wooden warehouse was said to have been storing flammable materials and was nestled alongside a restaurant and apartments, all of which were damaged as well. Families, senior citizens and children were evacuated.
All the damaged structures were cordoned off for fear of collapse. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
This story will be updated.
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