Dec 16, 2008 (DVB), A fire broke out at Rangoon’s Yuzana Plaza shopping centre on 14 December caused by a power surge following a power cut, according to an official from the fire department.

The official said the fire department assessed that the fire had been started by a power surge after a shopkeeper failed to turn electrical switches off during the power cut.

According to a local shopkeeper, four shops and their contents were destroyed by the blaze, but firefighters arrived on the scene quickly and were able to bring the fire under control.

"They got there almost immediately; otherwise the whole plaza would have been destroyed," she said.

An electrical engineer said the wiring in the plaza was faulty and there were no fire safety measures in place.

"There have been frequent power cuts and people use generators and forget to turn off the switches before they go home," he said.

"There are frequent problems like that."

Reporting by Phone Min Naing