Firefighters from Kathu Municipality Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation office were called to scene, near the King Kong night market on Phra Phuket Kaew Rd, at 11am.
They arrived to find the motorbike with sidecar engulfed in flames in the westbound lane.
Other officials, with Kathu Mayor ChaiAnan Suttikul and Capt Nipon Temsang of the Kathu Police present, immediately closed the road for safety while the firefighters tackled the blaze, which took some 20 minutes to put out.
The salapao vendor, who police have yet to name, explained that he had just finished selling his salapao (“steamed stuffed buns”) in front of the 7-Eleven opposite the entrance Moo Baan Kathu Thani and was on his way elsewhere to sell more buns when the hose fitted to the gas canister came loose.
Gas escaping through the hose fitting caught alight, resulting in an unstoppable blaze.
The vendor’s Green Honda Wave 125cc and his travelling-kitchen sidecar were both destroyed by the fire.
Kathu Police said they believed the vendor’s story, but added they were continuing their investigation in order to compile their report of the incident.