A FIRE broke out on the morning of September 13 in a drainage channel near a petrol station in Sanchaung township, leaving one man injured, said an official at the Fire Services Department.

The official told The Myanmar Times that the fire occurred at 7:32am at the corner of Barkayar and Baho roads when local resident Mg Kyaw Min Latt, 27, used a candle to search for something he might have lost in the channel. The official said the candle flame ignited petrol floating on the surface of the water in the channel, causing injuries to Mg Kyaw Min Latt’s face and arms.

The fire was put out by neighbours, who took the victim to a local hospital by the time a fire engine arrived on the scene at 7:50am.

One eyewitness said the fire caused a cloud of smoke but no damage. “After the fire was put out the petrol station closed but then reopened around noon,” he said.