In the middle of this month of April, just within hardly a week, three fires broke out in quick succession in Phnom Penh. The first one happened on 11 April and the blaze destroyed some 450 houses in Tuk Thla commune, Russey Keo district. The next day another fire burned part of the Naga casino hotel in Tonle Bassac commune, Chamcar Mon district. On 16 April a third fire broke out in Phkar Doeum Thkov commune in the same district and the blaze destroyed some 33 houses.
In the fires in Tuk Thla and Phkar Doeum Thkov communes, which have made thousands of people homeless, victims blamed firemen for lack of promptness in putting out those fires and to contain their spread and limit their devastation, especially in Tuk Thla commune. There were allegations that firemen had asked for money before they put out the fire or to douse houses to protect them and prevent the fire from spreading.
In an interview with a radio reporter a male victim in Tuk Thla commune said he offered US$400 to firemen but they did not douse my house, and a female victim went berserk lamenting that the firemen protect the rich and neglect the poor. A female resident whose house had been saved told another reporter that her uncle knew some firemen and paid them US$10.
The municipal authorities denied the allegations of the firemens lack of promptness, and blamed the anarchical construction of houses leaving no room for fire engines to move in the area to contain the fires and limit the damage. However, these denials and excuses are not convincing, however reasonable they may be, when bribery in firefighting, involving sums of up to tens of thousands of US dollars, is widely known. The bribes that the villagers cited above talked about are indicative of the problem of the bribery plaguing the Cambodian fire service.
The Cambodian government cannot ignore this problem and continue to condone such bribery. It is all the more imperative for it to addresses this issue and stamp out any corruption in the fire service when the number of houses has dramatically increased following a boom in house construction over recent years and the increasing fire risks. It should conduct an immediate investigation into the allegations of bribery in the concerned fires and take action against those firemen involved. It should get firemen to perform their duties with promptness and with equality for all without favouring the rich and neglecting the poor, by giving them more training and providing them with adequate fire fighting equipment and other resources.
