Fire destroys houseboat near Thailand’s renowned floating school

A teacher at Thailand’s only floating school rushes to the rescue after family of kindergarten student loses everything

A fire broke out on a houseboat in Lamphun province yesterday evening, completely destroying the vessel. Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident.

The houseboat belonged to the family of a student at Ban Ko Jatsan School, Houseboat Branch, the renowned floating school located near the ill-fated houseboat.

Parinya Khanaasa, also known as “Kru Noi”, who teaches at the school, wrote on his Facebook page, "Kru Noi Ruean Pae”, that the houseboat was home to Jaranya, a kindergarten student at Ban Ko Jatsan School.



In a follow-up video, Kri Noi described how, just before the incident, Jaranya’s parents had picked her up from school and taken her back to their houseboat. The fire broke out shortly after.

Upon noticing the flames, the teacher quickly had the students don life jackets and took a motorboat to rescue Jaranya and her family, who were about 1 km away. By the time they arrived, Jaranya, her mother, and her father had safely escaped onto another boat, though all three were visibly shaken. While they were unharmed, their houseboat and belongings were entirely destroyed.

The fire was caused by Jaranya's mother accidentally leaving the gas stove on.

Kru Noi coordinated with local villagers on the shore to arrange for an emergency vehicle to take the family to a house in Ban Ko Tha, Ko Subdistrict, Li District. He reported the incident to his superiors to discuss further support for Jaranya’s family.



Ban Ko Jatsan School, Houseboat Branch, is a satellite branch of Ban Ko Jatsan School in Li District, Lamphun. It is Thailand’s only floating school, located on a lake above the Bhumibol Dam at the intersection of three provinces: Lamphun, Chiang Mai, and Tak.

The story of this unique school inspired the 2014 film “The Teacher’s Diary” (“Khit Thueng Witthaya:), a romantic drama that was selected as Thailand's entry for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 87th Academy Awards, though it did not receive a nomination. The film was later remade in India as “Notebook”, which was released in March 2019.

“The Teacher's Diary” is based on the life of a teacher at Ban Ko Jatsan School, Houseboat Branch.

(2025/02/19-00:00)