Police and volunteers drag away the suspect
so that firefighters could extinguish the blaze.
Patcharapol Panrak
Firefighters attempting to put out a fire at an
abandoned Sattahip house were attacked with rocks and sticks by the
intoxicated drug user suspected of setting the fire.
Authorities were called Nov. 27 to an empty Sukhumvit
Road two-story home near the Sattahip Market whose second floor was on
fire.
Two engine companies set to work extinguishing the
blaze, but quickly discovered a crazed-looking man, identified later as
Weerasak Boonruang, 28, still inside. Still holding the inhalant he
apparently was high on, Weerasak then began throwing rocks, bottles and
sticks at the firefighters.
Faced with the onslaught, the firemen at first
retreated, then decided to turn the hoses on the drug user to force him
out of the house. The tactic worked and Weerasak was taken to Queen
Sirikit Hospital for treatment.
The house fire was extinguished in 20 minutes and
Weerasak was later charged with arson.
Homeowner Sia Chathirun, 63, said the house had been
vacant for several years and claimed that Weerasak had recently began
squatting there to take drugs.