Fire Breaks Out at Pattaya Condo, Hundreds Evacuated, Several People Injured

[MJCM]

5 hours ago, ezzra said:

Easier and quicker solution is to ban all cocking with gas in the building, it helps a lot...

May I ask where does it say they were doing that and that was the cause of the fire?

 

Electrical Short would be my guess.

[MJCM]

4 minutes ago, Tony M said:

We have annual testing of fire appliances, attended by the Pattaya Fire Department, and the sprinklers are tested to ensure that they are in working order.  Not all of them, of course, as that would be a wet weekend.

Same in the Condo we lived (build in 2002) which had Sprinklers in every room and smoke detectors.

 

All cooking was done on Electric (and not gas).

[MJCM]

21 minutes ago, sandyf said:

Quite a bit actually. Foreigners tend to surround themselves with more combustible material than Thais.

That combustible material would be Thai Gf's I guess

[MJCM]

2 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Money?

Guess so, but a building next door to my OLD Condo wasn't allowed to open because it hadn't a lift installed as (which is mandatory I believe) if over 6?? floors.

 

It's still standing empty last time I went to Pattaya

[Burma Bill]

6 hours ago, Skallywag said:

Strange they had no fire sprinkler system

And maybe smoke detectors?? 

The hotel I regularly used in Chiang Mai had both smoke detectors and sprinkler systems in all rooms. It was a "No Smoking" establishment . I appreciate in this incident, it was a condo block and smoke detectors would have been a nightmare for the management, having to respond to smoke alarms every time a resident lights up a cigarette.

[Joe Farang]

Where is Soi Wat Boon in Pattaya?

I am familiar with the one in Jomtien, but I assume it's not that one.

[Salerno]

2 minutes ago, Joe Farang said:

I am familiar with the one in Jomtien, but I assume it's not that one.

It is that one, well off it, location here.

 

[Joe Farang]

5 minutes ago, Salerno said:

It is that one, well off it, location here.

 

Cheers, I know the area. A friend lived in a Condo up that way 12 years ago. There was a market up that way as well, maybe still there

[Longwood50]

1 hour ago, sandyf said:

When I said the electrics were in pipework, I meant metal plumbing pipes

I did not say the electrics were in pipework.  I said plumbing pipework.  I had electric done that had to be encased in PVC but that had nothing to do with the installation of a plumbing network to install a sprinkling system.  That would be far bigger and uglier. 

 

[scorecard]

6 hours ago, Longwood50 said:

Very simple cost of retrofit.  Buildings in Thailand are for the most part cement.  Unlike in the USA where you can take out drywall and put pipe in easily, I can't imagine the cost of attempting to retrofit pipe into the walls and ceilings made of cement. 

Well fitted stainless pipes, nicely installed better than nothing.

[BigStar]

2 hours ago, Longwood50 said:

I seriously doubt that any retrofit here would be as aesthetically pleasing as done in another country.

Ours is, so you may end your doubts. Nor is that the primary consideration anyway, as noted, and becomes irrelevant. You don't have a condo, so you needn't worry about the delicate sensibilities of those who do. Just enjoying stirring the pot, I guess.

 

2 hours ago, Longwood50 said:

One way or another, sprinkling systems cost money.  That money comes from someplace.

Yep. And it'll get paid, one way or the other. So? It wasn't so expensive, BTW. Thai labor costs are quite reasonable, and the materials needed as well--large market.

 

2 hours ago, Longwood50 said:

Also those water lines are already hidden inside the walls.  To hang a sprinkler it would likely require the plumbing to be exposed.  You sure cant connect a fitting to a pipe through a 4 inch hole in the wall or ceiling.  The existing pipes would have to be cut with some connector and pipe leading to the sprinklers.  

ANF Poster Building Engineering. None of this was necessary. And if it were, it'd be worth it. And it'd get done, if mandated. In our case, it was mandated as the initial impetus, but all the co-owners were on board.

 

2 hours ago, Longwood50 said:

There are many worthwhile projects here in Thailand and elsewhere.  Improving the roads, traffic lights, and enforcement of traffic rules would likely save far more lives than those lost to fires. 

Those projects wouldn't save me if my building starts to burn down. I'm more concerned with my own life, you see. So I'll go for the sprinkler system. You go for the saved lives on the roads and enjoy your barbecue.

 

Edited February 4, 2023 by BigStar

[jacko45k]

19 hours ago, Skallywag said:

Strange they had no fire sprinkler system in the rooms and hallways.  Photo does not show any water spraying from above? 

They don't in many cases.... be interested to learn how many buildings do. 

[sammieuk1]

19 hours ago, ezzra said:

Easier and quicker solution is to ban all cocking with gas in the building, it helps a lot...

That sounds painful and pleasurable at the same time ????

[AhFarangJa]

20 hours ago, ezzra said:

Easier and quicker solution is to ban all cocking with gas in the building, it helps a lot...

Ignoring the slight spelling error, I thought all condos banned gas cookers and bbq's.

[metisdead]

An off topic post about condos in Hawaii has been removed.

[mikebell]

21 hours ago, webfact said:

Firefighters with multiple fire engines,

Was this a fire in one room?

[jacko45k]

1 minute ago, mikebell said:

Was this a fire in one room?

It looks like it in the video from the OP.

[KhunBENQ]

15 hours ago, sandyf said:

I was in a hotel in Udon last week where electrics had been put in surface pipework and used as "Decor". Ball valves on the wall lights etc !!!

Must admit, not to my taste.

You don't like the Old Inn ????

I find it a nice change. 

[sandyf]

15 hours ago, Longwood50 said:

That would be far bigger and uglier. 

Ugly, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.

Some must like it it if a hotel deliberately chooses to surface mount steel pipework all over the room.

[sandyf]

57 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

You don't like the Old Inn ????

I find it a nice change. 

Good location and ok for a night, don't think I would like it for any length of time.

We were booked into the Pannarai but had to cancel that and then couldn't rebook.

[Longwood50]

1 hour ago, sandyf said:

Ugly, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.

Some must like it it if a hotel deliberately chooses to surface mount steel pipework all over the room

Some may think putting lipstick on a pig makes it more beutiful but common sense tells you otherwise. 

 

[Longwood50]

15 hours ago, BigStar said:

Those projects wouldn't save me if my building starts to burn down. I'm more concerned with my own life, you see. So I'll go for the sprinkler system. You go for the saved lives on the roads and enjoy your barbecue.

Yes, and it would be good to have a fire station right outside every apartment building and condo.  

The fact remains that whether done expertly, or aesthetically so as to not detract.  IT COSTS MONEY.  

 

If it was an apartment building that doesn't mean that the apartment owner has the money for the retrofit or that he/she could borrow enough to have it completed.

As a person who lives in a village of homes, I can tell you that not every homeowner pays their common fees.  So saying Condo Owners even if the majority agree will come up with the money to pay for the installation is a pipe dream. 

Do I think sprinkling systems are a good idea, YES.  So are fire alarm systems,  so are security cameras, so are security guards etc.  However they all cost money and many of the posts advocating the mandatory installation of sprinkling systems seem to ignore that reality. 
 

[Longwood50]

16 hours ago, scorecard said:

Well fitted stainless pipes, nicely installed better than nothing.

Ah now stainless pipes.  Why not shining copper or platinum?  

Marie Antoinette " let them eat cake" 

Thailand "let them just have stainless"

[Liverpool Lou]

On 2/4/2023 at 10:38 AM, Skallywag said:

Strange they had no fire sprinkler system in the rooms and hallways.  Photo does not show any water spraying from above? 

The fire was confined to one room; did you see footage of the inside of that room?  Regardless of that, sprinklers are only a requirement for building over eight floors.

Edited February 5, 2023 by Liverpool Lou

[Liverpool Lou]

23 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

You wont find many (if any) condo buildings with sprinklers in Thailand. I come from Australia, and its not that common there either.

On the contrary, there are many;  condo buildings over eight storeys, built since 1992, are required by law to be equipped with them.

[Liverpool Lou]

23 hours ago, ezzra said:

Easier and quicker solution is to ban all cocking with gas in the building, it helps a lot...

As most such fires appear to be caused by electrical faults, and gas in most condos is restricted or not permitted, banning gas completely probably would have no significant effect.

[Liverpool Lou]

22 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

About 200 hundred people live in the condominium and most of them are foreigners.

 

How is that relevant to anything?

Probably very relevant to the readers of the English language outlet, Pattaya News, from where this report came, and who are, apparently, more likely to consider living there.

Edited February 5, 2023 by Liverpool Lou

[Liverpool Lou]

21 hours ago, Skallywag said:

According to google, Amazon Residence was completed in 2014.  I live in a condo in south Pattaya that was completed in 2015 and it has a sprinkler system, so I had the idea that it was part of building code here.

 

For buildings over eight storeys.

[Liverpool Lou]

19 hours ago, Nong Khai Man said:

COCKING With Gas ???

Uncomfortable and can be embarrassing if audible.  Has been known to overcome the odour of fish, though.

[Liverpool Lou]

3 hours ago, AhFarangJa said:

 I thought all condos banned gas cookers 

No, they don't.