Storage building of Nakhon Pathom wax museum burns down

Fire destroys storage building at Thai Human Imagery Museum, damaging many fibreglass figures; cause under investigation.

A storage building at the Thai Human Imagery Museum in Nakhon Pathom was damaged in a fire on Wednesday morning, destroying several figures inside, police said.

Pol Lt Col Chavalit Pupaniad, deputy chief of Nakhon Chaisri Police Station, said the fire broke out at around 6.30am within the museum’s compound in Moo 1 village, Tambon Khun Kaew, Nakhon Chaisri district, Nakhon Pathom.

Ten fire engines were dispatched to the scene, and firefighters spent about two hours bringing the blaze under control.
Chavalit said the fire started on the ground floor of the three-storey building and quickly spread to the second floor.

The ground floor was used to store thinner solvent and fibreglass used to make the figures. The figures at the museum are crafted from fibreglass instead of wax.

The second and third floors were used to store completed figures. When the fire broke out, workers were able to remove only about ten figures of well-known late monks, while the rest were damaged by the intense flames.
 

A worker told police he was still in bed in the workers’ quarters when he noticed black smoke coming from the storage building. He alerted police and woke up other workers to help remove the completed figures.

Officers from the police forensic science office have yet to determine the cause of the fire.

(2025/04/23-00:00)