The burning of a fluorescent lamp holder is suspected to be the cause of the fire at the dormitory of Pitakkiat Witthaya school in Chiang Rai province which killed 17 girl students.
Pol Lt-Gen Thanitsak Thirasawat, commissioner of Region 5 Provincial Police Bureau, said Wednesday that police investigators found a melted fluorescent lamp holder on a pile of cloth in the burned-out dormitory and that is the only linkage with the fire. He dismissed the possibility of an arson.
In the aftermath of this tragedy, it was reported that the Lampang governor, Mr Samart Loyfah, ordered officials of Sueksa Songkroh Chit-aree school under the patronage of the late Princess Mother to check electrical equipments at a dormitory in the school to find out whether they are in good working conditions or not and whether fire extinguishers are still working.
Several other schools in different provinces also took precautions by rechecking electrical equipment and electric wires in schools.
