Fire Leaves More Than a Thousand Homeless

A midday blaze that destroyed a residential neighborhood in western Rangoon's Hlaing Tharyar Township has left more than a thousand people homeless and relief workers scrambling to provide emergency assistance.

According to police officials in Hlaing Tharyar, 351 houses were destroyed when the fire, which started around noon on Monday, spread through the congested working-class neighborhood.

“Many fire trucks came to put it out, but the road was too narrow for them to get through,” said one man whose family of six was forced to flee their home without any of their belongings.

The total number of those left destitute by the blaze was 1,388, the police told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday. However, some relief workers said the actual figure was probably much higher.

With many of the victims of the fire now sheltering in the compound of the nearby Aung Zeya Min Monastery, local relief groups say they are concentrating on supplying them with basic necessities.

“We don't have enough blankets and mosquito nets,” said one woman who lost her home.

Aung Zaw, the deputy secretary of the local branch of the National League for Democracy, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that the party had supplied food and clothing to around 100 households this morning.

Local authorities said they believed that the blaze was caused by a cooking fire. They said they have already pressed charges against the person who allegedly started the fire, but residents said the person had already fled the area.