Stay clear of Khlong Thom Center after the overnight fire

A fire broke out inside Khlong Thom Center on Vorachak Road in Pom Prap Sattru Phai at 20:42 on 28 August 2026 and burned through the night. Firefighters brought it under control from outside the building and put it out at 05:32 the next morning. The market sits about 2 km east of Thammasat Tha Prachan, near Sam Yot MRT, so it is close enough to affect how BIR students travel and the air around that part of the old town.

The Pom Prap Sattru Phai District Office asked the public to avoid Vorachak Road and give way to emergency vehicles. Eleven people were hurt, one of them a firefighter in a critical condition from smoke inhalation, and no one was killed.

What happened#

The fire started in a first-floor shop and spread fast to the mezzanine below the car park. The market is packed with electronics, plastic goods and parked vehicles, which fed the fire and produced heavy black smoke, and there were explosions through the evening.

If you travel near the area#

The streets around Khlong Thom, Sam Yot and Charoen Krung will stay busy while crews clear the site and engineers check the building. Traffic and road closures can change through the day.

• Avoid Vorachak Road and the blocks immediately around the market until the authorities reopen them.
• Give yourself extra time if your route to campus passes through Sam Yot or the old town, and have a longer way round in mind.
• On foot, keep to the far side from the cordon and follow any instructions from police and rescue workers on the ground.

The river routes to Tha Prachan on the western edge of campus are away from the fire and are the calmer approach if the roads to the east are blocked.

Smoke and air quality#

Smoke from a fire like this is not ordinary haze. Burning electronics and plastic release fine particles and toxic gases, and one firefighter was left in a critical condition from breathing it in. Smoke and the smell can drift well beyond the site and linger for a day or more.

The Department of Health advises a well-fitting N95 or KN95 mask, not a cloth or surgical one, for fine particles and smoke. A plain mask does not filter them out. Fit matters as much as the type, so press the nose wire down and check the mask seals over your nose and under your chin.

• Keep away from the smoke rather than relying on a mask to make it safe. Avoiding it is the real protection.
• If you live or study near the area, keep windows closed while you can smell smoke.
• Anyone with asthma, a long-term lung condition or a heart condition should not wear an N95, because it makes breathing harder. Stay indoors and away from the smoke instead.
• See a doctor if you have a bad cough, a tight chest or trouble breathing, and call 1669 if someone cannot breathe.

Emergency numbers#

Keep these to hand while the situation is live.

More on staying safe around campus is on Safety and emergencies. If you are BIR and caught up in this, or you are not sure you can get to class safely, tell the BIR Programme office or a BIRSA committee member and we will help you sort it out.