Arakan State reports 73 fire outbreaks in 2022

07 Jan 2023

DMG Newsroom
7 January 2023, Sittwe

Arakan State saw 73 fire outbreaks in 2022, with financial losses totalling nearly K137 million, according to data from the Arakan State Fire Service Department.

There were 28 cases of kitchen fires, seven arson attacks, 20 cases were caused by electrical short circuits and 17 cases were caused by negligence, with one case still under investigation.

A total of 473 houses, three warehouses and a factory were razed in fires, according to the fire service department.

Sittwe Township fire service department chief U Kyaw Lin said the department has been educating the public about fire hazards in an effort to reduce fire outbreaks.

“Whenever the dry season comes, we make checks door to door, as well as at factories and workshops, filling stations, KTV lounges, hotels and motels,” he said.

On January 3 of this year, meanwhile, a 10-year-old girl was badly injured when her family’s bamboo house burnt in candle fire in Mrauk-U Township’s Sin Kya Seik Village. The girl was badly injured in her legs, arms, face and eyes, her mother Daw Mya Thein told DMG.

“She was injured all over her body. She can’t open one of her eyes. Puss comes out when she cries. Doctors say she might need to receive treatment in Sittwe,” said Daw Mya Thein.

Arakan State saw 76 reported fire outbreaks in 2021.