The Phnom Penh police’s fire brigade is creating a new committee to determine the cause of a blaze at O’Russei market on Sunday night, an official said.
The flames, which started at about 10:30pm on the ground floor, completely burned down five stalls and damaged five others, said Phnom Penh police deputy chief for weapons, explosions and fire Neth Vantha.
No one was injured.
“We haven’t found out the exact reason for the fire yet,” Vantha said.
But market vendors, he added, said that one rice soup store owner neglected to turn off their stove.
The fire, he said, was extinguished within an hour and led to what vendors are saying equates to between $10,000 and $20,000 in damages.
According to Phnom Penh police fire brigade director Prom Yorn, they are starting a committee to determine the exact cause of the fire.
“It is better than accusing store owners,” Yorn added.
The 12th floor of a construction site for a condo in Chroy Changvar district also caught fire on Sunday afternoon.
Yorn said the blaze was due to a worker’s lit cigarette butt. No one was injured.
