Popular Chatuchak Weekend Market in BKK Caught Fire; 200 Shops Damaged By Fire

If you’ve been to Bangkok, you’d most probably have been to the Chatuchak Weekend Market.

It’s Bangkok’s answer to Taipei’s Shilin Night Market, but with more affordable stuff and much, much bigger. Unlike Shilin Night Market, Chatuchak Weekend Market is only open during the weekends.

With over 10,000 vendors, you can find anything there—and when I say anything, I meant everything.

Here a video tour of the market:

Needless to say, like any market, it’s a potential fire hazard given how close the shops are.

And yesterday, it shows.

Fire Destroyed 120 Stalls Yesterday (2 June 2019)

Yesterday (2 June 2019), at around 9:00 p.m. local time  (Singapore time 10:00 p.m.), one of the shops at Gate 1 in the market caught fire.

In addition to the fire, witnesses also heard sporadic explosions.

ไฟไหม้ตลาดนัดสวนจตุจักร @js100radio #ไฟไหม้ #สวนจตุจักร #จตุจักร pic.twitter.com/EL19yLYsOV

— TND 🐽 (@KamOTwit) June 2, 2019

Twenty fire trucks were deployed to the area and it took almost one and a half hour to bring the fire under control. Firefighters had to break into most of the shops as they were locked.

Strong winds also contributed to the fast spread of the fire.

Initial report showed that almost 200 shops were damaged by the fire, with 120 shops destroyed. Two people were reportedly injured.

The Bangkok governor is visiting the site to meet vendors who shops were affected by the fire.

According to Bangkok Post, each stall’s rental is about 10,600 baht to 17,700 baht (SGD$460 to SGD$767) a month. But do remember that they’re only open during the weekends.

Electrical Overloaded?

The cause of the fire is still unknown. However, the chairwoman of Chatuchak service cooperative noted that the electric outlets tended to be overloaded and the power plugs in the market were below standard.

It’s unknown whether the market would be open next weekend.