Two buildings in Thanbyuzayart Township were destroyed by fire yesterday when a customer’s petrol can started a blaze in the fuel shop where he was being served.

According to a local monk, the container still had traces of a flammable substance in it from a previous occasion and this reacted with the petrol when the fuel shop owner began to fill it at around 6pm yesterday. As the owner and customer fled, fire spread through the shop to the owner’s home behind and then to the car parts shop next door, destroying both buildings.

“When it started two fire trucks came to the shop from Thanbyuzayart Fire Station and tried to put out the fire,” said a local resident.

One of the trucks turned out to be unusable but they were joined by two more– one each from Mudon and Kyaikhamee (Kyaikhami). Local people also tried to help tackle the blaze.

“A water seller used his truck and other people tried to help too,” said the resident.

“I don’t know if the shop owner was arrested afterwards or not.”

The fire was eventually extinguished but not before causing what locals estimate is around 100 million Kyat’s worth of damage.