The following is a guest opinion article from Doc Martyn. His opinions and advice are entirely his own and may not necessarily be those of The Pattaya News Company Limited. His contact information can be found at the end of the article.
1. Recently, our Sawang team in Khon Kaen attended a fire in Nong Ruea. It was a ferocious fire which consumed two houses, see photos 1-6. Both homes were traditional Thai wooden homes.
2. 9 Thais lived in one of the homes; 5 ladies, 2 men, 2 children. 4 Thais lived in the other home; 1 lady, 3 men. All escaped without injury. Except for the clothes they were wearing, all their other possessions were lost. Currently, they are staying in the local Temple, awaiting financial assistance from the government.
3. As members of the Sawang Team, once the fire was extinguished, we were contacted. My team spent the following day combing through the many clothes that had been donated previously, see photos 7-14. 5 boxes of clothes were dispatched to our team in Khon Kaen, it’s chilly in Khon Kean.
4. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people who donated these clothes:
-Paul Rochester.
-Luke and Ellie; Pattaya Baby Equipment.
-Phillip Di Pietrantonio and his lovely wife Chonticha.
-Davina Dainty.
My sincere thanks to you all.
5. A special ‘thank you’ goes to Azharuddin Mohammed, a patient of mine. Last month he made an unsolicited financial donation of THB 20,000 because, in his words, ‘I really appreciate all the work you’ve been doing helping everyone’. He made a further donation of THB 30,000 this month. These funds will enable my team to assist in the recovery of those 13 Thais who lost their home. Naturally, I will arrange to assist in the rebuild of the lost homes if possible. But we will not provide cash for the sufferers. Cash is often ‘misplaced’ and not received by the troubled people in need.
6. Many of you are aware that I am founding the Doc Martyn Charity Association, see photo 15, which has been a slow process and yet to be completed. When I eventually have a mobile clinic my team, in conjunction with the local Sawang team, will assist in the rehabilitation of those who have suffered such privation.
7. Due to the inherent risk of the traditional wooden Thai home, Thailand builders have moved away from wood to concrete construction. The remaining wooden buildings remain at risk. Inadequate electrical wiring is the cause of many fires in such homes. Recently, In Naklua there have been several fires in such properties. These fires are difficult to control and extinguish. Most properties burn to the ground.
Our Spa is an 80 years old traditional wooden Thai home. To mitigate the risk of fire, I replaced the old electric cables with new 2×2.5 50mm Thailand cable.
8. The Thai government should mandate a change of wiring in these vulnerable homes. Unfortunately, such a significant infrastructure would be expensive and beyond the cost of most Thais. In typical Thai style, such a mandate would simply be ignored. The end of ‘The Thai Tinderbox’ is nigh.
Addendum: Over the past 6 years, as a retired medic living in Buriram I offered second opinions on any medical issue. I recently moved to Pattaya. As in this case, if you reside outside of Pattaya, telephone consultations are provided. For assistance; please contact me, Doc Martyn, on Facebook or call Dao on 095 414 8145.