SOMETHINGS -BANGKOK'S- STRANGENESS

SOMETHING sss-strange in your Bangkok neighbourhood?  :

A fire department in northern Bangkok has not received a call for fire since June.  But for trapping a  slithery foe?

There is a 24-hour hotline. ''The work [ catching snakes ] is quite a lot,'' said Suraphong Suepchai, a  46-year-old firefighter working in the  Thai capital's Lat Yao district,

''For firefighting, we have none.''

Thai firefighters are often called out to deal with snakes  in homes if they have rates, or during the rainy season when hatchlings are born.

Snakes are a common sight in Bangkok, a bustling city built on once swampy land, said it is not unusual to see them slithering across public spaces like parks, water canals and schools.

But residents might also encounter them in their homes, especially if they have rats.

The calls to  Suraphong's  fire department increases during the rainy season after new hatchlings are born.

If venomous snakes are caught during their calls, they are brought to the Bangkok's  Snake Farm  near the centre of the city.

Venomous snakes are taken to the  Bangkok Snake Farm, and harmless snakes are taken to a park.

As for harmless snakes, Suraphong said he tries to explain to people that it's good to have them around to keep a balanced  ecosystem.

''If we kill all the  snakes and they disappear, rats will come and bring disease,'' he said, adding that these are bought to a nearby unversity park to be released. [AFP]