Untold Story Of Bangkok; Self-Extinguishing At Klong Toei Amid Extreme Heat
Lingkungan & Krisis Iklim
October 28, 2025
Zulfa Amira Zaed/Bangkok, Thailand
The atmosphere of a resident’s house in Khlong Toei, Bangkok. (credits: Zulfa Amira Zaed/amira.co.id)
KHLONG Toey khwaeng (sub district), or Klong Toei, is a slum behind the skyscrapers in Bangkok City. Densely populated settlements with a lack of facilities and a high risk of fire.
The location of this settlement is very close to the port of Khlong Toey. In 2006, citing the Global Report On Human Settlement 2003, it was estimated that more than 100,000 people lived in this slum.
Narrow alleys, and houses that are squeezed together. Entering the alleys of Klong Toei, is like entering a ghetto area. Junkieman were seen calmly relaxing on the side of the alley.
In Thai, the word “Khlong” means: canal, and, “Toey” is the name of a district in Bangkok City. Khlong Toey is also a subdistrict where the district is located.
The canal, in Thai history, that crosses this region is commonly referred to as the “Canal of Pandans“. A name that refers to the plant Pandanus amaryllifolius, a tropical plant that has fragrant leaves, and is widely used in Southeast Asian cuisine.
This area is directly adjacent to the Chao Phraya River. An exotic river for tourists at night.
This area has existed since the 18th century AD. Known as the main port leading to cities in the upstream region, such as Pak Nam Phra Pradaeng. This port was built during the time of King Phra Bat Somdet Phra Paramoruracha Mahachakkriborommanat Phra Phutthayotfa Chulalok (Rama I).
Klong Toei is the largest and oldest informal residential area in Bangkok City. Most of the population lives in substandard semi-permanent housing with or without ownership rights.
Generally they are immigrants, who come from outside the city of Bangkok, with the aim of changing fate to be better than before.
The railway transporting mining materials belongs to a private company that divides settlements. (credits: Zulfa Amira Zaed/amira.co.id)
The biggest social challenges in the region are the limited availability of sanitation, electrical installations, health facilities, and education.
The width of the alley section in the Klong Toei area is 1 to 1.5 meters, which can only be passed by motorcyclists and pedestrians. As a result, it makes it difficult for fire engines to reach fire spots.
The houses in this area are mostly made of wood and gypsum boards. The average area of each house is 20 square meters with a roof that is not too high, which is 2 to 3 meters. Most homes are built without a ceiling that serves as a heat trap from the roof of the house.
So, many of the residents’ houses must be equipped with Air Conditioners (AC). For them, air conditioning is a major necessity for survival.
A mother, who was reluctant to be named, told to Amira a critical matter about the need for air conditioner here.
“Even though for us, the price of air conditioners is very expensive, we still buy them so that we can still breathe in the house, especially during the day when the weather is hot,” she said, while staring at the engine of the outdoor air conditioner unit next to his house.
She continued, that they are willing to go into debt to buy air conditioners, even though we know the consequences are to have to pay debts up to many times the actual price.
Her daughter, who is still under 10 years old, is soaking in a large bucket. None other than to reduce the heat temperature in his body due to extreme heat.
To buy an air conditioner, she had to go into debt through an online loan application to get money.
Bhu Pha, 58, another resident there, told a different story.
“Our house is inhabited by eight people. When it is dry, the air is very hot. The thing I was most worried about was the potential for fires. But we have no choice, because this is where we can live, with a more affordable cost of living than in other areas of Bangkok,” said Bhu Pha.
On January 9, 2025, there was a fire in Rom Klao Pattana Mai near the Klong Toei residential flat on Narong Street, Klong Toei District, Bangkok. The fire caused as many as 22 units of semi-permanent houses to burn and impacted more than 33 people at the location.
A hydrant in a densely populated residential area in Klong Toei, Bangkok. (credits: Zulfa Amira Zaed/amira.co.id)
There are many possibilities for fires to occur. Like; human error, electrical short circuits, and hot temperatures in the dry season which reach 42 degrees Celsius.
However, this did not make all communities living in the Klong Toei area give up. The area, which covers an area of more than 40 hectares and is divided into four subdistricts, also has hope.
A community group accompanied by the Duang Prateep Foundation (DPT) located on At Narong Road formed a fire awareness community tasked with extinguishing fires independently called the Atnarong Fire And Rescue Center.
This group is equipped with the ability to extinguish fires in densely populated areas. Not only moving when there is a disaster, this community also routinely checks the surrounding hydrants, whether the dam is in good condition and can be used when a fire occurs.
By utilizing several hydrant points available, this group will extinguish the fire in the event of a fire. This firefighting community consists of people who live in the area itself.
“We believe that the people here better understand the surrounding conditions and understand what can be done in the event of a disaster. So, we assist the community here by equipping them with the ability to extinguish fires,” said Prateep Ungkongtham Hata, as Committee Member and Secretary General of DPT.
The woman born on August 9, 1952 has indeed been active and shown her concern in the Khlo Toey area. In fact, he was given several titles. Such as Khru Prateep (Teacher Prateep), “Angel of Khlong Toey” and “Slum Angel”.
Indeed, Prateep was born in the slums of Khlong Toey. And, with her background, he also tried hard so that his neighbors were able to survive and tame the flames.
An effort based on her personal history and experinces, it is hoped that it can be a solution for the residents of Klong Toei.*
