On August 29th, 66 at 7:30 PM, news broke of a devastating fire in a condominium complex beneath Pattaya's skyline. Local authorities swiftly responded to the call, dispatching firefighting and rescue teams to the scene in Nong Pru, Bang Lamung district, Chonburi province.

 

The inferno erupted within a 24-story high-end condominium building. Inhabitants, gripped by panic, scrambled for safety as firefighters battled the blaze on the 9th floor, where flames and billowing smoke emerged from a balcony, shrouding the entire structure, reported Siam Rath.

 

Picture: Siam Rath

 

 

Firefighters employed hydraulic platforms to douse the flames, ultimately bringing the situation under control.

 

Although no injuries were reported, one resident recounted the harrowing ordeal, describing how he fled down a fire escape amidst thick smoke and cries for help.

 

Picture: Siam Rath

 

Another resident, the room's owner, received news of the fire remotely and confirmed no appliances were left plugged in, raising suspicions of an electrical malfunction.

 

Initial investigations suggest the fire may have originated from an external laundry room due to an electrical short circuit.

 

As the community recovers, this incident serves as a stark reminder of the importance of fire safety measures and preparedness in residential buildings.

 

Picture: Siam Rath

 

-- ASEAN NOW 2023-08-30

 

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Condo name a big secret?

That's a luxury apartment building? Looks to be far from that!

Luckily the condo owner had renewed his Insurance policy last week.

Could be a luxury apartment building... after all every motel in Thailand is a resort.

52 minutes ago, ChrisY1 said:

That's a luxury apartment building? Looks to be far from that!

It's all relative........

39 minutes ago, Skipalongcassidy said:

Could be a luxury apartment building... after all every motel in Thailand is a resort.

I learned many years ago traveling the country to be cynical of places named 'Resort' or 'Mansion'......

1 hour ago, ChrisY1 said:

That's a luxury apartment building? Looks to be far from that!

Any 24 floor fan room buildings near you? 

Somewhere in there.

maybe went out with a wash left unattended, not a good idea, i don't even leave chargers unattended.......very dangerous 

Photo of everything ekse but the billowing smoke and errupting blaze.

2 hours ago, smedly said:

maybe went out with a wash left unattended, not a good idea, i don't even leave chargers unattended.......very dangerous 

You missed this part....
the room's owner, received news of the fire remotely and confirmed no appliances were left plugged in,

I assume that the 'luxury' condo had a sprinkler system, one that was in working order??? No? Oh dear.

At least once, I'd like to read that one person told another, "Come with me if you want to live!"

22 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

I assume that the 'luxury' condo had a sprinkler system, one that was in working order??? No? Oh dear.

Safety last.

29 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

I assume that the 'luxury' condo had a sprinkler system, one that was in working order??? No? Oh dear.

The sprinkler system had just been checked the week before last. Like the escalator/conveyor walkway at DMK airport.......

Luxury in Thailand is anything over 28 square meters room size according to the Thais. In my "luxury" condo building, they turn off the lights in the stairwells at night and shut down one of the elevators to save money. I have complained many times that this is a fire danger but the Thais seem not to care. Life is cheap in Thailand.

Lots of Chief Fire Officer's have suddenly appeared on this post.

Surprised people were even able to escape using the fire stairs. 

Isn't it mandatory that owners block and lock those exits to prevent people from sneaking out ? (Yes I'm being sarcastic. Because it seems in almost all of the major nightclub/hotel/condo disasters in the last 30 years, one major issue was that emergency exits were blocked or even chained and locked.)

In some cases, the fire stairs and areas outside of the emergency exits were used to store old furnishings/appliances (because it was cheaper to just stash them in an unused space than to pay to have them hauled away).

This must be a luxury residence if people were able to get out.

Funny how "Another resident, the room's owner, received news of the fire remotely and confirmed no appliances were left plugged in).

Almost as though they know exactly where the fire started and who owned that condo and how to contact him.

But this is Thailand and if you've seen what passes for electrical work in some places, you'd want to make sure you knew exactly where the exits are (and if they are clear) and maybe invest in a fire extinguisher or two as well.

(I was having an issue with the power in my house once. Called an "electrician". He stood - barefoot - on a metal ladder and started pulling wires off the main feed, careful to twist them out of the way a bit. (I was sure he was going to electrocute himself so I entered the emergency number on my phone and was ready to make the call in an instant if things went wrong.)

He went to remove one circuit breaker and it literally fell into pieces as he pulled it out. A cheap (30 baht) made in China piece of crap. Ended up changing all of them, just to be safe, with newer (more expensive) ones. (Probably the same quality, just more expensive.)

1 hour ago, IamNoone88 said:

Photo of everything ekse but the billowing smoke and errupting blaze.

Yes, 'inferno'........'devastating blaze'.......'billowing smoke'......all absent.

9 hours ago, webfact said:

As the community recovers, this incident serves as a stark reminder of the importance of fire safety measures and preparedness in residential buildings.

I'm sure they mean wiring is per building codes. Building codes? 5555 555. 

Nothing to do with Pattaya or a condo. Just before the COVID I rented a nice villa in a farang run developpment, in direction of the Black Mountain area Hua Hin.

 

The place had those recessed  bulbs in the ceiling. Often when I would turn ON the lights one bulb would  go dead in different rooms. Told the owner of the developpment who gave the usual "yeah sure" and even was cheeky enough to openly say they had badly built it so that's it.

 

Spoke with some other owners who had similar issues and said that the farang developpers of the place just did not give a hoot. Once the sale was concluded.  Many regular residents often had their electric apparatus suddenly go dead due to the poor electrical worksmanship and the developpers just did nothing to amend. The homes were generally not more then a few years old. 

 

A real hazard and I would not feel safe even to rent such a place in Hua HIn despite how nice it looks on the outside.

Edited August 30, 20232 yr by Sigmund

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Edited August 30, 20232 yr by Sigmund

58 minutes ago, Kerryd said:

Funny how "Another resident, the room's owner, received news of the fire remotely and confirmed no appliances were left plugged in).

Almost as though they know exactly where the fire started and who owned that condo and how to contact him.

Why shouldn't they be able to work that out, how is that so difficult when they knew what floor it started on?   

A post contravening our Community Standards has been removed.    

5 hours ago, smedly said:

maybe went out with a wash left unattended, not a good idea

Maybe not as the owner confirmed nothing was left connected.

2 hours ago, IamNoone88 said:

Photo of everything ekse but the billowing smoke and errupting blaze.

Disappointed?   Would you also have liked to se photos of residents diving off their balconies to escape the flames and smoke?

Thailand has many safety problems mainly death trap roads and condos. Before Covid I rented in a relatively new condo (5 yrs max). The pools were not maintained, but one day after an hours sunbathing early morning with my neighbor , the pool lift wasn’t working. So we went to the fire escape, Ok one flight down, ( 7 th floor) and then…locked doors !! Started to get a bit worried so called the condo office where luckily I spoke to one of the girls I know. Half an hour later the doors were unlocked by the security man. Unbelievable, we made it known how dangerous this was, another office girl from the office butted in and shouted at us . Luckily the two of us were at the end of our contract so moved out. 

Fire Guts Pattaya Condo. perthepattayanews.com

 

The name of the condo complex was withheld pending the final investigation. 

 

Unbelievable reporting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2 hours ago, Umlungu said:

The sprinkler system had just been checked the week before last. Like the escalator/conveyor walkway at DMK airport.......

Checking things here means " Someone walked past it "