Fires Continue to Plague Mandalay

Burma’s second largest city, Mandalay, has had another fire, after a building in a privately owned residential compound for students went up in flames early this morning. It was the third major fire to hit the city in as many days.

The owner of the dormitory told The Irrawaddy that the fire was in a hostel for female students and was apparently caused by an electrical short circuit. All 1,500 students living in the compound escaped unharmed, she added.

According to a witness, seven rooms in one building of the dormitory compound, which is located in an area bordered by 32nd, 33rd, 64th and 65th Streets, were destroyed by the fire.

Yesterday afternoon, a smaller fire broke out at Mandalay’s Pyi Kyaw Market, a day after the Yadanabon Market, Mandalay’s second largest, was gutted by a major conflagration. According to the state-run newspaper, The New Light of Myanmar, more than 1,300 businesses, including a computer learning center and a private office, were destroyed in the fire. The cause of the blaze remains undetermined.

On the same day as the Yadanabon fire, around 200 homes were destroyed in Hlaing Thar Yar, in the outskirts of Rangoon, leaving some 3,000 people homeless, according to a source close to a government official.

Last week, a fire at a shoe factory in Mandalay left two people dead, including a firefighter. The fire was reportedly caused by faulty electrical wiring.

A Burmese engineer now working in Singapore explained that the frequent occurrence of fires in Burma is largely due to the poor quality of materials used in the country.

“There is no quality control by authorities in Burma, and most of the electrical materials that Burmese people use are imported from China. These are very cheap and don’t last very long,” he said.