Rayong factory fire causes panic, 80 Mil. baht damage

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Up to 2,000 people were evacuated from their homes March 29 when the Master Glove Industries Co. plant in Pluakdaeng erupted in a major fire. Fire police, worried that the seven tons of liquid petroleum gas, 600 kg of chlorine and other chemicals on site might explode, evacuated 2 km of the surrounding area.

A fire at a rubber-glove factory promoted the evacuation of a Rayong neighborhood and caused about 80 million baht in damage.

Fearing an explosion, fire officials moved more than 2,000 people about two kilometers from the Master Glove Industries Co. plant in Pluakdaeng March 29.  The plant contained more than seven tons of liquid petroleum gas, 600 kg. of chlorine and other chemicals.

Up to 2,000 people were evacuated from their homes March 29 when the Master Glove Industries Co. plant in Pluakdaeng erupted in a major fire. Fire police, worried that the seven tons of liquid petroleum gas, 600 kg of chlorine and other chemicals on site might explode, evacuated 2 km of the surrounding area. Up to 2,000 people were evacuated from their homes March 29 when the Master Glove Industries Co. plant in Pluakdaeng erupted in a major fire. Fire police, worried that the seven tons of liquid petroleum gas, 600 kg of chlorine and other chemicals on site might explode, evacuated 2 km of the surrounding area.

Firefighters from the Amata City Industrial Estate, Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate and towns of Mae Nam Khu and Ratcholburi battled the blaze for two hours. All of the 268 employees escaped without injury and no explosion occurred.

Fire police battle the inferno at the Master Glove Industries Co. plant in Pluakdaeng.Fire police battle the inferno at the Master Glove Industries Co. plant in Pluakdaeng.

Workers said they heard the sound of an electrical short in a storage area filled with gloves and cloth. Flames quickly spread to the production facility, whose roof collapsed, and then into the rubber plantation. About 10 rai of property was damaged.

Pluakdaeng Mayor Wongthep Khemwirat said 70 percent of the 9-rai factory was destroyed. Fortunately, he said, the fire was controlled before the chlorine, gas and chemicals ignited.