Couple and about 30 cats die in Nonthaburi house fire, police probe cause

A man and a woman died alongside roughly 30 pet cats after fire tore through a two-storey house in a luxury housing estate in Nonthaburi, central Thailand, in the early hours of Monday, 17 August 2026.

Emergency services were alerted to the blaze at a property on Ratchaphruek-Nonthaburi 1 Road in tambon Bang Si Muang, Muang district, at about 12.10am, according to Police Lieutenant Alongkorn Meesri, deputy inspector of investigation at Bang Si Muang police station.

Officers arriving at the scene found the 320-square-metre house well alight, with flames engulfing the entire second floor. Four fire engines, alongside volunteers from the Ruamkatanyu Foundation, were deployed to fight the blaze.

It took firefighters about half an hour to bring the fire under control.

Inside a bedroom, rescuers discovered the bodies of a man and a woman lying on a bed. Nearby were a charcoal stove and the remains of a 20-litre container that had held petrol. Their identities have yet to be confirmed, and police said their bodies were severely burned.

A rear room on the same floor, used to house the couple's pet cats, was also engulfed. Around 30 cats, including Persian and Scottish breeds, were found overcome by smoke inside the room.

Jam Laotoom, 45, a firefighter with the Ruamkatanyu Foundation, said he had initially been unaware anyone was inside the house when he responded to the call. He said crews were unable to prevent the fire spreading into the bedroom despite spraying water on the blaze.

When he climbed a ladder to inspect the room, he saw a large fuel container inside. Explosions followed when water was sprayed onto it, he said. The bathroom door in the area was found locked.

Rescuers removed the cats from the house and administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Two animals survived and were recovering, according to reports from the scene.

A subsequent inspection found the ground floor of the house had not been damaged by the fire, though petrol stains were found splashed throughout the property, Bang Si Muang police said.

A neighbour told police that a loud noise, described as something falling to the floor, was heard inside the house shortly before the fire broke out. The same neighbour said the couple were regular cryptocurrency traders.

Police said they were coordinating with forensic officers to conduct a further examination of the scene to determine the exact cause of the fire. The investigation was continuing at the time of writing.