A grandfather was deeply saddened after returning from his brother's funeral to find his two-story Thai-style house nearly completely destroyed by fire, with damages estimated over 5 million baht. Police are rushing to determine the exact cause, suspecting a possible electrical short circuit.
At 22:00 on 17 June 2026, Police Lieutenant Colonel Kamphon Inteewong, a detective at Uthai Police Station, received a report of a residential fire within the Wat Khanham community, Village No. 4, Uthai Subdistrict, Uthai District, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Province. Fire trucks from local administrative organizations and nearby areas, along with personnel from the Ayutthaya Ruam Jai Association and Ayutthaya Rescue Unit, were urgently dispatched to the scene.
The fire occurred in a narrow alley within the community, where a two-story house was ablaze. The ground floor was concrete, while the upper floor was a traditional Thai-style wooden structure. The fire spread rapidly and fiercely. More than 20 fire trucks were deployed to spray water and prevent the blaze from spreading to neighboring homes. It took over an hour to control the fire, leaving only smoke remaining.
The house where the fire started was completely damaged, and two nearby houses suffered partial damage. Meanwhile, provincial electricity officials cut off power to ensure safety.
Mrs. Wilai, 57, the younger sister of the homeowner, explained that the burned house belonged to her brother, while she lived in an adjacent house. At the time of the fire, she was preparing envelopes for an event the next day inside her sister's house nearby. When she went back to prepare for the event, she noticed flames coming from the second floor of the house, where the prayer room is located. Everyone quickly evacuated and called firefighters for help.
Mrs. Wilai added that before the incident, the family had just returned from their sister's funeral at Wat Khanham. The house was unoccupied during the fire because the owner was staying at a nearby dormitory not far from the scene.
Mr. Prachum Trichai, 72, the homeowner, said that no one was inside the house during the fire. He was at a nearby dormitory and had just returned from his sister's funeral, eating dinner when relatives informed him about the fire. Upon arriving, he saw that the blaze had already spread and nearly destroyed the house.
The house is over 40–50 years old, with two stories—the upper floor being a traditional Thai-style wooden structure used to store household items, blankets, bedding, clothes, and a prayer room containing many Buddha statues. The initial cause is suspected to be an electrical short circuit, with damage estimated at about 5 million baht.
Investigators have documented the scene and collected evidence, finding one household completely damaged and two neighboring related households partially affected. Authorities will coordinate with forensic police to conduct a detailed investigation tomorrow to determine the exact cause of the fire, which is preliminarily suspected to be an electrical short circuit.