A man, who was believed to be high on drugs, was seriously injured from burns after setting fire to his own house in Na Kae district on Sunday morning, police said.
Pol Lt Col Sangwian Sriyos, the Na Kae police chief, said firefighters from Nong Sang and Na Kae tambon administration organisations (TAOs) were dispatched to the two-storey house at Kham Mek village in tambon Nong Sang after being informed of the fire which broke out at about 2.30am.
When the firefighters arrived, the wooden house was already in flames.
While spraying water to douse the fire, the firefighters also helped a man who was seriously sufferring from burns and lying unconscious on the ground floor out of the house.
The man was later identified as Khunthueng Nuengkhammee, 48, the owner of the house.
The firefighters were able to put out the fire in about 30 minutes.
Police learned from an initial investigation that Mr Khunthueng had been addicted to alcohol and drugs.
It was believed he set fire to his own house after getting high on drugs since he had tried many times before to burn the house but the neighbours managed to put out the fires.
This time, the neighbours were not able to stop the fire in time as it happened late in the night.
Banchi Namket, 54, an elder sister of Mr Khunthueng, said her brother is the last of the family’s six children.
A few years ago, Mr Khunthueng, who was unmarried, had a motorcycle accident and became disabled.
After that he became addicted to alcohol and drugs. He was taken to hospital many times for rehabilitation, but to no avail.
Mr Khunthueng has been detained by police for further legal action.
