IDP camps in Arakan State flag lack of fire safety equipment in blaze’s wake

By DMG 18 Mar 2021

DMG Newsroom
18 March 2021, Sittwe 

Camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Arakan State are in need of fire safety equipment, camp managers told DMG following a fire that devastated the temporary shelters of more than 600 households in a blaze this week. 

An IDP camp opened at a Buddhist monastery in the Arakan State capital Sittwe has taken no fire prevention measures and IDPs there are concerned about a possible fire outbreak, said camp manager U Maung San Nyunt. 

“I want concerned departments to provide fire safety training. We also need fire extinguishers. It is important to take fire prevention measures. I have consulted with the abbot [of the monastery hosting the IDP camp] to take prevention measures,” he said. 

There are nearly 300 households taking shelter at the monastery, he said, adding that there is considerable risk of fire outbreak at IDP camps due to crowded situations. 

Manager U Soe Kyaw Hla of Nay Pu Khan camp in Kyauktaw Township said: “There is a need to separate the wall and stoves with tin sheets in cooking. And we need fire extinguishers, fire flappers, sand and water buckets. We still don’t have such equipment at our camp.” 

Nay Pu Khan camp houses more than 1,700 IDPs from over 400 households, and the township fire services department warned the camp about the risks of fire outbreak last month. 

There are more than 20 displacement camps in Rathedaung Township alone and none of them has fire safety equipment, said Ko Bekka, a volunteer helping the IDPs. He said he and other volunteers plan to visit all the IDP camps next week, to educate IDPs about causes of fire and help them make fire flappers and fire hooks. 

“It is the hot season now with strong winds blowing. So, it is important that fire is used [safely],” he said. 

U Than Htike, head of the Arakan State Fire Services Department, said: “Fire drills were carried out since last month at IDP camps where there is a good level of security. We tried to conduct fire drills in as many IDP camps as possible. But some camps might have been left out.”  

Over 600 of some 800 houses at an IDP camp in Tin Nyo village, Mrauk-U Township, were reduced to ashes in a fire outbreak reportedly caused by negligence on Wednesday night. The camp has a population of more than 3,000 IDPs.