Three die, three others injured, in Bangkok apartment building blaze

[Thian]

36 minutes ago, ginjag said:

So in 1992 didn't the new regulations come into effect ??   forcing the powers that be to widen the access ??   the normal would be to enforce.

I don't know, they also ordered those 300 new firetrucks which are rotting on a field...maybe those were smaller to be used in the city?

 

 

[maddox41]

The building is 25 years old and with progress more buildings have gone up around it 

Plus the Soi would of had cars parked in it I'm sure. 

As another blogger has mentioned its pre building fire code regulations 

My girlfriend works for a company that does fire doors and glass and new rules are pretty good but access is the issue 

But a fire drill would be good my old condo we did  one every 6 months no one turn up but it was done 

 

 

[Henrik Andersen]

4 hours ago, HooHaa said:

sorry, i read all the articles, but perhaps lack your reading comprehension skills. 

where exactly does it suggest the building was illegal? 

If the street to narrow it probably build on public land as meny other building in Thailand but just wait I sure soon we get a new story about this 

Thailand have stayed to crack down on this already another tread was about all soi was build on public land 

[wealthychef]

6 hours ago, impulse said:

 

What they probably meant was that there were so many illegally parked cars, kiosks, scooters and junk that the fire trucks couldn't get to it.

 

If so, they should find the owners of all the illegally parked vehicles and charge them with involuntary manslaughter, for blocking emergency access.

 

My God what universe do you live in?  LOL.  Active imagination you have there. 

[wealthychef]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

They initially thought there was a fight until someone knocked on the door of their room saying there was a fire.

 

When they opened the door, smoke rushed in so they wore smoke masks they had prepared and went onto their balcony.

Sounds to me like there were no smoke detectors installed in the building eh?  

I live in a fancy condo on soi 24 and there are no fire sprinklers installed, just smoke detectors, and I have no idea if other units beside mine have even those...  Amazing Thailand.  :-)  This is not the safest country to live in from certain standpoints... 

[Srikcir]

4 hours ago, Thian said:

The 180-room Ratchathewi Apartment was built in 1987, before the enactment of the 1992 Building Control Act subjected housing to strict fire prevention and safety measures. It did not have sprinklers and fire extinguishers installed, only fire alarms and fire exits.

• September 2016 - nine story residential building in Narathiwat Soi 18 on fire taking one life and causing six injuries. Built in 1992. Exempt from the 1992 Building Safety Control Act. Building was located on a narrow road and too high for a fire engine to reach flames.
• March 2012 - thirteen story FICO Place building had a massive fire. Fire partly blamed on the lack of a good sprinkler system and narrow street. Built before the 1992 and exempt from the Building Safety Control Act.

There are roughly 1,000 other buildings these buildings in Bangkok. So 997 to go up in flames?

[Surasak]

Building and road planning in Thailand? So out dated, is it any surprise fire and other emergency services cannot access the soi's? This kind of thing is not confined to Bangkok, its the same in every city, town and village in the country. If a very serious fire broke out, half the city could go up in flames due to lack of access. Never mind, we'll send a few tents for the affected. Typical care less attitude.  

[Cheops]

2 hours ago, jmacken306 said:

3 Dead and over 60 injured? 3 Dead and 3 other injured? What happened to the other 57 injured, Oh and After the 24 tenants were rescued, Where are the remaining 33 or did I count wrong?

A Thai friend at my work didn't show up today and after I contacted him he told me he stays in the hospital to take care of 2 nieces in the icu department suffering smoke inhalation from this fire. Their parents live outside bkk, so he takes care of them until the parents arrive (probably already arrived now). The 2 nieces lived very close to the unit where one of the deaths occurred. Hopefully they will survive. I don't know about the rest of the injured people. 

[Thian]

18 minutes ago, Cheops said:

A Thai friend at my work didn't show up today and after I contacted him he told me he stays in the hospital to take care of 2 nieces in the icu department suffering smoke inhalation from this fire. Their parents live outside bkk, so he takes care of them until the parents arrive (probably already arrived now). The 2 nieces lived very close to the unit where one of the deaths occurred. Hopefully they will survive. I don't know about the rest of the injured people. 

Yes smoke is also very dangerous, stay low on the ground if it happens to you.

 

But if i lived in a condo i would be prepared, have a gasmask, good torch with full battery, a life-line you can throw out of a window to lower yourself down....all stuff like that.

 

 

[DipStick]

3 hours ago, Jimdandy said:

Perfect example of incompetence. How does a government operate a fire department without appropriate equipment...Let me guess, they do not care how wide the Soi is because they never intended to go down a Soi in the first place.

Let’s try a few other scenarios, when the condos were built, it’s feasible that with the fire trucks at that time, they were able to access the area, but since then, fire trucks may be wider, longer and if carrying water, heavier which coupled with encroachment of the access roads by illegal building, roadside food vendors, motorists parking etc here is the result.

[SpeakeasyThai]

2 hours ago, stropper said:

most likely the pommie engineers , there really good at fires, get of the thais  backs,  they are trying

Very well balanced comment. 2 chips on the each shoulder and still reeling from your cricket cheating scandal!

[impulse]

3 hours ago, sambum said:

No - read the post:-  "However, as the soi is too small for fire engines to enter,.............." 

 

Why do so many people choose to misread posts so they can jump to their (usual Thai knocking) conclusions?

 

I read it.  I've lived in Bangkok for 7 years, and I used to drive a fire truck, a Class A pumper.  I don't find it credible that a soi was less than 8' wide plus a little clearance on each side to drive a truck into it.  Unless there was something on the soi blocking access. 

 

I can easily believe they couldn't get the truck past the illegally parked cars, scooters, kiosks and other junk, though. 

 

[hotchilli]

8 hours ago, ThreeEyedRaven said:

How did they manage to build this condo in the first place if fire engines cant get to it?

Also sounds like the building and its tenants had absolutely no fire drill procedure whatsoever.

Fortunate the death toll wasn't higher.

No mention of an internal fire fighting system either??

[DipStick]

1 hour ago, Thian said:

Yes smoke is also very dangerous, stay low on the ground if it happens to you.

 

But if i lived in a condo i would be prepared, have a gasmask, good torch with full battery, a life-line you can throw out of a window to lower yourself down....all stuff like that.

 

 

All very logical apart from your Spider-Man rope life line which to be blunt was laughable, have you ever stopped to consider the mass and weight of such a rope to be able to abseil down from say the 27th floor, and of course your ability to do such a thing 

[Tofer]

Very sad to hear of such incidents. 

 

I would hazard a guess that there are very many high rise buildings that do not conform to modern day safety requirements, and / or are not properly maintained in terms of fire safety.

 

All you guys living in such buildings should perhaps take time to investigate your condos safety measures. Do the management conduct regular fire drills and alarm system checks? Has a fire officer ever visited to make an assessment of safety?

 

 

[Thian]

18 minutes ago, DipStick said:

All very logical apart from your Spider-Man rope life line which to be blunt was laughable, have you ever stopped to consider the mass and weight of such a rope to be able to abseil down from say the 27th floor, and of course your ability to do such a thing 

I forget the name but they have special equipment for that, 1500 us$....i would buy 2.

[metisdead]

Off topic posts and the replies have been removed. 

[cardinalblue]

This fire is not a big deal...so don't analyze from a western perspective...

 

do you really expect fire safety code compliance and inspections to be happening? Do you really expect building codes and permits to be honored let alone to be taken serious?

 

thailand is all image and profit...public safety is not a priority...

 

these people died when the building opened...

 

dont sweat the small stuff...the school fire in CR was much more concerning....

[DipStick]

55 minutes ago, Thian said:

I forget the name but they have special equipment for that, 1500 us$....i would buy 2.

I have just seen the light, now we know why so many balcony deaths occur. It's not suicide after all.

[uffe123]

You pay enough money you can build anywhere. what rules and regulations? means nothing in this country. the old saying: money talks and bs walks.

[ericthai]

8 hours ago, jmacken306 said:

3 Dead and over 60 injured? 3 Dead and 3 other injured? What happened to the other 57 injured, Oh and After the 24 tenants were rescued, Where are the remaining 33 or did I count wrong?

did you forget your reading a thai article.  The numbers never add up in any news article in Thailand. Never!

[George FmplesdaCosteedback]

Funny how building regulations are ignored.

All the fuss over Pattaya Walking Street signs and yet Bangkok if full of apartments that are not accessible by fire appliances (not that they could reach that height anyway).

 

RIP to the dead and quick recovery to those still affected.

 

Time to have a look at the planning department employees' bank accounts???

 

[webfact]

Late night online game proves lucky

By The Nation

 

Warut (red shirt) sits with his friend after escaping the fire from his apartment building on Tuesday.

 

WARUT POONPON, 29, was lucky to have been awake until early yesterday playing the online ROV game. He was alert to the fire that broke out in his apartment building, which claimed three lives, and escaped in time.
 

He said he and his friend, who also lived in the same building, were playing the online game at about 2am when he heard some sound opposite his room. He opened the door and saw sparks in the electricity control room, so he quickly went downstairs to alert the security guards.

 

When he went back to his room on the fourth floor, he found thick smoke on the corridors. He alerted his friend via the game about the fire. They then left their rooms and alerted other tenants about the fire before informing police.

 

Meanwhile, Anhthi Vanngo, 28, a Vietnamese exchange student from Chulalongkorn University, who was reported missing after the fire was put out, has been traced to Ramathibhodi Hospital.

 

A university official alerted JS 100 traffic radio station about the missing student. The station phoned the hospitals where those affected by the fire were sent. A nurse at Ramathibodi Hospital told the station staff that a Vietnamese female affected by the fire had been admitted and her face matched the photo of the missing Vietnamese student.

 

Because she was on a respirator, the nurse wrote the name Anhthi Vanngo and showed it to her. The patient nodded so JS 100 radio contacted the university. Her room was on the 14th floor and one of her friends, who managed to escape, said she was last seen unconscious but she was unable to help her.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30342403

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-04-04

[Srikcir]

12 hours ago, uffe123 said:

You pay enough money you can build anywhere. what rules and regulations? means nothing in this country. the old saying: money talks and bs walks.

There is some hope for Thailand, at least in Bangkok.

 

The 24-story luxury Aetas Bangkok hotel connected to an 18-story serviced apartment complex on Soi Ruamrudee was built in violation of a ministerial regulation in the 1979 Buildings Control Act prohibiting a very tall building on a street with a surface width less than 10 meters (about 8 stories) - albeit with official permit approval*!

https://thethaiger.com/thailand-news/Court-orders-demolition-luxury-Bangkok-hotel

* from the Department of Public Works.

 

The Central Administrative Court ordered after a Supreme Administrative Court ruling the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and the Pathumwan district office to reduce the number of floors of the 24-story Aetas Bangkok and the 18-story Aetas Residence to eight.

https://loyaltylobby.com/2016/10/01/popular-aetas-bangkok-hotel-will-be-partly-demolished-due-to-disregarded-zoning-laws/

BMA to open bidding for contractor to partially demolish two Soi Ruamrudee buildings (Jan. 2018)

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30336356

 

 

[Bangkok Barry]

20 hours ago, watcharacters said:

 

 

 

Anyone recall where some years ago people died in a highrise building because the Bangkok firefighters  did not have permission to enter the building?

 

It's the right of every country to establish laws to be followed but I did find that one strange.

 

Central Chidlom was gutted by fire because security guards wouldn't let the firemen in. They said it was because they would steal stuff.

[Bangkok Barry]

17 hours ago, Media1 said:

Absolute madness house hundreds maybe 1000 people with no fire plan or water. This country has limited or no planning and inspections. l wonder how my how much city hall made on this project.

RIP

 

This country, yes, and others too. It was decided that no sprinkler system would be installed because of the cost, therefore deliberately condemning anyone living above the first 10 floors to death if there was a fire. Just their bad luck.

My photo. I went there 36 hours after and it was one of the most stunning and moving sights I have ever seen. No photo could do it justice.

Edited April 4, 2018 by Bangkok Barry

[Bangkok Barry]

14 hours ago, impulse said:

I can easily believe they couldn't get the truck past the illegally parked cars, scooters, kiosks and other junk, though. 

 

You obviously know the area well. Unless your assertion that cars and scooters were parked illegally and kiosks and junk were blocking the way is just in your head and based on no facts whatsoever.

[Tofer]

Exactly why I would never live in a high rise in Thailand.....

[lvr181]

23 hours ago, impulse said:

 

What they probably meant was that there were so many illegally parked cars, kiosks, scooters and junk that the fire trucks couldn't get to it.

A pity that the fire engines hadn't "pushed" some of the vehicles aside to get to the building. 

 

A policeman could have then made a note of the registration plates of the vehicles and their owners would be required by a court to pay (or in lieu, a term of imprisonment) for the damage to the fire appliances.

 

But, TIT.

[Grumpy Duck]

23 hours ago, impulse said:

 

What they probably meant was that there were so many illegally parked cars, kiosks, scooters and junk that the fire trucks couldn't get to it.

 

If so, they should find the owners of all the illegally parked vehicles and charge them with involuntary manslaughter, for blocking emergency access.

 

I have noticed the fire station on Ladphrao Rd Soi 31 looks as if the vehicles have not been moved in years. Maybe a good idea would be for the fire departments to make periodic test runs on all streets in their area? So Sorry for the people that lost their lives. I find it hard to believe a 15 floor complex had no fire protection equipment, but at the same time water is not recommended for an electrical fire. 

I took a look at Google Map and the photo view was very old, but it appeared the alley was in fact really narrow, perhaps due the the construction.