"Tee Pattharaphong" leads the "Orange Firefighters" team to help extinguish forest fires, aiming to reduce PM2.5 levels in the northern region, which have surged past 600 micrograms per cubic meter.
On 26 March 2026, Mr. Pattharaphong Leelaphat, Member of Parliament for Chiang Mai Constituency 8 from the People’s Party, launched the "Orange Firefighters" team mission to combat northern forest fires and reduce PM2.5 levels that have already exceeded 600 micrograms per cubic meter. Pattharaphong stated that the team has been active since 26 February until today.
The Orange Firefighters team is well-prepared with equipment, physical readiness, and experience. Established since last year's forest fires, the team aims to thoroughly understand how to allocate budgets and manage forest fire missions properly—deciding which equipment models are suitable or not, assessing the varying dangers of fires in each forest area, and utilizing technology to analyze data. The goal is that, if in government, they could allocate budgets appropriately in terms of funding, usable equipment, sufficient personnel, staff welfare, and timely support before problems arise.
This year, the Orange Firefighters team has conducted 38 forest fire extinguishing missions, covering a total fire line of 107 kilometers across Mae Wang, San Pa Tong, Hang Dong, Doi Saket, San Kamphaeng, Mae On, San Sai districts in Chiang Mai, and Mueang and Mae Tha districts in Lamphun. Additionally, the team has flown drones for surveillance and fire line location more than 150 times, totaling over 30 flight hours, to provide coordinates for firefighting teams.
Mr. Pattharaphong added that although the People’s Party is not in government, they are fully committed to protecting everyone’s lungs, working alongside officials and the public in urgent forest fire control efforts to reduce toxic PM2.5 dust, and addressing the root causes of forest fires and community involvement in fire management through parliamentary channels and mechanisms.
Mr. Pattharaphong concluded by saying, The People’s Party is taking action— the question is, what is the government doing?
