Probably wouldn't have made much difference in this case, but all these drink tables set beside where people sit sure block the way when anyone is trying to make a fast exit. Why don't Thais keep bottles on the table with them, as happens anywhere else in the world that I've been to.

It was stated some electrical work had been carried out just previous ??   I wonder whom made these works - proper competent person or an amateur ??  That may well have contributed to the short circuit .

As far as I understand , the regulations require an RCD on all new electrical installations but on older installations or ones done by an amateur , the absence of such can prove disastrous and/or fatal .   I wonder if one was fitted which could have mitigated the short circuit and consequential fire/explosions ??

6 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Shouldn't even be allowed to sell flammable panel's, seems madness

Correct, flammable panels should be outlawed, but who really cares -  a sale is a sale .....

8 hours ago, webfact said:

Since the fire Bangkok authorities have inspected many establishments and over 80 were told to close pending further inspections.

I'm surprised that no-one has commented on this. Pretty frightening.

4 hours ago, jacko45k said:

I am surprised they even sell and stock flammable ones.....

They are sold in Europe and the US too. Consequences are higher there though

5 hours ago, Geoffggi said:

What do the building codes stipulate ..................LOL

The building codes stipulate mostly the same as in the west so the lol is incorrect there. Its the implementation of them that you can use lol for

So now they will inspect all such businesses and close those which are operating illegally. No doubt they will prosecute the owners of the illegal ones, but I would suggest that they are offered an amnesty if they identify the cops they were paying to stay open.

Amazing that they need so called experts to state the obvious.????

9 hours ago, webfact said:

After speaking to sound absorption suppliers, the dreadful fire at the Mountain B club in Sattahip could have been avoided by using non-flammable grade panels.

It could have been avoided by having a licence to operate and a fire inspection certificate to say it was safe...

But hey... This is Thailand and none of that matters.

Several off-topic posts have been removed.

7 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Shouldn't even be allowed to sell flammable panel's, seems madness

One could say the same about that high rise in London that was clad in flammable material and went up in flames.

I understand there are many others including in Australia.

Its all about saving the $.

As usual the Thai tendency to skimp on all things in building and construction has again resulted in a tragedy.

With the Muppets now in the stable door and bolted horse mode making a sad effort to be seen etc...

10 hours ago, webfact said:

priced at 400-600 baht/sheet, size 1.25×2 cm

Not exactly a 'sheet'. I would call it a 'piece' since it measures only 125mm x 200mm ......???? No thickness indicated.

I say this with confidence, My ovaries are not flame-retardant.

Back in the day I as a U.K. police officer used to join the fire officers when we inspected any licensed premises that had been constructed or altered.

 

We used to look for any safety issues, including escape routes, places which could not be easily supervised by bar staff, materials etc. 

 

The brigade were very thorough and we used to refuse the bar liquor licences until they met the standards.

 

i believe some years ago these inspections were curtailed. 
 

In Thailand it appears these have never been carried out as health and safety are two of the dirtiest words.

 "but later on decided to add a blackout without permission"

 

and nobody knew it? Police? Administration ? They all thought it was a restaurant for sure ????????????

 

6 hours ago, sawadee1947 said:

Not surprising.

It's Thailand!

Safety? What's that?

????☹️????

A mask and NO helmet…

9 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Shouldn't even be allowed to sell flammable panel's, seems madness

Agreed... 

 

11 hours ago, webfact said:

Apparently, the difference between the cheaper flammable and non-flammable panels was just THB200 per panel.

 

11 hours ago, webfact said:

These materials used are suitable for sound absorption. They are commonly installed in hospitals, hotels, and recording rooms. including a pub bar or a place that needs silence.

 

So.. how many hospitals and hotels are also using this cheaper material ??? (this is like Grenfell disaster - poorer cheaper materials and somewhere someone made the choice to go cheap) 

 

And really, in any industry, when the ‘lowest bidder’ wins, who is going to go for the more expensive option when it impacts the bottom line unless the decision maker themselves are potentially in the firing line if something later goes wrong ?

 

So... Is Thailand now going to inspect all public places to make sure they are not using similar flammable material ??.... and then force retrofit on those which are not ???....

.... Of course, not silly question.... But, there will be a lot of announcements !!!

 

 

2 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Agreed... 

 

 

 

So.. how many hospitals and hotels are also using this cheaper material ??? (this is like Grenfell disaster - poorer cheaper materials and somewhere someone made the choice to go cheap) 

 

And really, in any industry, when the ‘lowest bidder’ wins, who is going to go for the more expensive option when it impacts the bottom line unless the decision maker themselves are potentially in the firing line if something later goes wrong ?

 

So... Is Thailand now going to inspect all public places to make sure they are not using similar flammable material ??.... and then force retrofit on those which are not ???....

.... Of course, not silly question.... But, there will be a lot of announcements !!!

 

 

company who fitted the panels says they were non flammable, so someone's got it wrong

8 hours ago, sawadee1947 said:

Not surprising.

It's Thailand!

Safety? What's that?

????☹️????

Safety first. That's what it says at every construction site. 

In the UK you had a flat burning down, due to decorative panels on the outside.

 

In 2000 a bar here was burned down on old years eve. They made it very nice inside with all kind of decorations, it's a party, however all with highly flammable items. Christmas branches were hanging and were totally dry. 

They didnt expect many people(80), but were wrong(300).

Further blocked escape routes, also blocked by people passing out.

At that point we had the song alive form Deep Purple.

"Some stupid with a flair gun, burned the place to the ground"

Even the title was right, "Smoke on the water"

Eventually 14 people died and 200 sever wounded.

All within 3 MINUTES.

Ta ta taaaaaa, tata tataaaa. Smoke on the water, a fire in the sky.

One Thai news channel is talking about that it looked like there were 2 different types of panels 1) PU foam 2) polystyrene panels (they got that info from a picture they didn't show). 

I saw one pic from the outside where I think it looks like the PU foam did pretty much what it was supposed to do. Some missing (no idea what happened there), some partially melted, some deformed and charred.  It didn't look too bad considering what happened. I'm certainly not an expert in that particular area but I am an engineer. I bet that was flame retardant self-extinguishing foam.

The polystyrene panels??? That's highly flammable. The picture they talked about is most likely  from before the fire...