A fire, believed to have been caused by the extremely hot weather, broke out at a landfill in Si Maha Phot district of Prachin Buri yesterday afternoon, sending thick black smoke into the sky and emitting foul smell.

Four fire trucks rushed to the landfill, covering over 2.7 hectares in Nong Prong sub-district, to prevent the fire from spreading. Two backhoes were also used to pull garbage away from the scene of the fire.

The fire was reported to have started at about 4pm and, after five hours, it was still burning, according to provincial public disaster prevention and mitigation office.

A local official said that the temperature in Si Maha Phot district yesterday was 40^oC, adding that landfill gas from the mountain of garbage may have ignited.

In Bangkok’s Chom Thong district, a fire was reported at about 2am this morning at a chemical factory on Rama 2 Road, resulting in the leakage of chemical fumes into the environment.

Fire trucks, with the help of a chemicals team from the district’s environment office, rushed to the fire scene in Soi 20 off Rama 2 Road to control the leak. 12 drums of chemicals were removed from the factory grounds.

The emission of chemical laden smoke was stopped by about 3am and environment officials are expected to visit the factory today to investigate the cause of the fire.