Municipal fire department director Prom Yorn told The Post on Wednesday that fire inspectors searched for gas selling shops in Daun Penh district and found two unlicensed businesses out of the seven locations they visited.

Yorn said the shops were located in Phsar Kandal I, Phsar Kandal II, Phsar Chas and Chey Chumneah commune in Daun Penh district. There were five shops with proper authorisation and the inspectors instructed owners to pay extra attention to minimising risk.

“It has been almost a month now that fire departments have been cooperating with district police to inspect gas shops. First, we identified the districts in central Phnom Penh. Daun Penh was the first target. We will go from one district to another in a row and cover all the 14 districts in Phnom Penh,” Yorn said.

He said next on the list is Boeung Keng Kang after Pchum Ben.

Phnom Penh municipal governor Khuong Sreng instructed fire departments to eliminate unlicensed gas shops in Phnom Penh to reduce risk.

Sreng noted at an August 6 meeting of the municipal council that many gas shops did not meet technical standards, including using old gas cylinders and thin tanks that can cause risk to both the gas filler and consumer.

Sreng called on all gas vendors to stop buying old cylinders from other countries and spraying them for reuse because there is a high risk of explosions and house fires.