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Fire Rages At Bangkok Mall; 1 Dead, 40 Injured


bino

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Edit- just found the story in the Nation breaking news:

A fire broke out at a shopping and residential plaza building in Bangkok Sunday night. No casualties were reported.

The fire broke out at the Sua Pa Plaza in Pomprab district at 8:30 pm.

The blaze broke out from the first floor and quickly spread to other floors, causing panic among many residents inside the building. Many of them rushed to the rooftop, waiting for help.

By 9:15 pm, fire fighters managed to control the blaze and rescue 15 people from the building.

About 20 other residents were still trapped inside the second and third floor. Authorities were trying to rescue them by using helicopters. They were being directed to the rooftop.

The building's 4th-6th floor are residential area of 50 rooms to each floor while the 7th to 9th floors provided sauna service.

By 11 pm, some 30 people were believed to be still trapped inside.

The Nation - 5 January 2009

Edited by bino
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1 killed, 47 injured in massive fire at shopping, residential building

BANGKOK: -- One person was killed and 47 others were injure when a massive fire swept through a shopping and residential building Sunday night.

Rescuers took hours to rescue some 50 people from the Sua Pa Plaza building in Pomprab district.

One body was found on the first floor where the fire broke out at 8:30 pm. The blaze, which caused thick smokes, quickly spread to other floors, causing panic among shoppers and residents of the building. Many of them rushed to the rooftop to wait for help.

The building's 4th-6th floor are residential area of 50 rooms to each floor while the 7th to 9th floors provided sauna service.

About 60 fire engines were deployed to fight the blaze, causing traffic congestion on the Sua Pa road.

By 9:15 pm, fire fighters managed to control the blaze but could not put it out completely as thick smokes still filled inside the building.

Initially, 19 people were rescued from the rooftop using a ladder of a fire engine.

Fire fighters also went inside the building and rescued some 10 other people from the first to fourth floors.

Later on, 30 more people fled to the rooftop and were rescued by a helicopter which landed on the roof of adjacent building. The stranded people were directed through a stairway to the adjacent building and were lifted to safety by the helicopter late at night.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Pol Lt Gen Suchart Muenkaew said about 100 people live inside the building and at least 50 of them were rescued.

Firefighters continued to douse the building with water but smokes still billowed out of the building late Sunday night, causing fear that the building would collapse.

The Erawan Emergency Centre reported that 32 people were rushed to the Central Hospital, 6 Hua Chiew Hospital, 4 to Vajira Hospital, 3 to Lerdsin Hospital, 1 to Rajvithi Hospital and another to the Ramathibodi Hospital.

-- The Nation 2000-01-05

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1 killed, 47 injured in massive fire at shopping, residential building

One man was killed and 47 other people were injure when a massive fire swept through a shopping and residential building Sunday night.

Rescuers took hours to rescue some 50 people from the Sua Pa Plaza building in Pomprab district.

The body of Sanguan Saenkaew, 45, was found on the seventh floor after the blaze was put out.

The fire broke out at 8:30 pm. The blaze, which caused thick smokes, quickly spread to other floors, causing panic among shoppers and residents of the building. Many of them rushed to the rooftop to wait for help.

The building's 4th-6th floor are residential area of 50 rooms to each floor while the 7th to 9th floors provided sauna service.

About 60 fire engines were deployed to fight the blaze, causing traffic congestion on the Sua Pa road.

By 9:15 pm, fire fighters managed to control the blaze but could not put it out completely as thick smokes still filled inside the building.

Initially, 19 people were rescued from the rooftop using a ladder of a fire engine.

Fire fighters also went inside the building and rescued some 10 other people from the first to fourth floors.

Later on, 30 more people fled to the rooftop and were rescued by a helicopter which landed on the roof of adjacent building. The stranded people were directed through a stairway to the adjacent building and were lifted to safety by the helicopter late at night.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Pol Lt Gen Suchart Muenkaew said about 100 people live inside the building and at least 50 of them were rescued.

Firefighters continued to douse the building with water but smokes still billowed out of the building late Sunday night, causing fear that the building would collapse.

The Erawan Emergency Centre reported that 32 people were rushed to the Central Hospital, 6 Hua Chiew Hospital, 4 to Vajira Hospital, 3 to Lerdsin Hospital, 1 to Rajvithi Hospital and another to the Ramathibodi Hospital.

- The Nation / 2009-01-05

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30092426-01.jpg

Rescuers rush a man to a hospital after rescuing him out of the Sua Pa Plaza building, which was hit by a big fire last night.

The Nation

Thanks for the great pics! It was good to see that Bangkok does have genuine fire fighting equipment. I'd just like to know where these fire stations are located, since I've never seen any in the Sukhumvit area. Since Sukhumvit has so many high rises, having centrally located fire fighting facilities is essential, especially due to traffic congestion!

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Fire rages at Bangkok mall; 1 dead, 40 injured

BANGKOK, Jan 5 (TNA) - Four days after the Suntika nightclub blaze tragedy, a fire broke out at a landmark commercial and residential building in Bangkok on Sunday night, killing at least one man and injuring 46 others.

Fire raged through Suapa Plaza in Pomprab district, housing a well-known sauna and spa as well as a guest house. Fire-panicked residents and spa customers rushed to the roof waving white towels calling for help. They were rescued by helicopter.

Authorities said the fire broke out at the building around 8 pm, when witnesses saw smoke coming from a mobile telephone accessories shop, which then spread to other floors.

About 100 people lived inside the building and some 40 were rescued and rushed to hospitals nearby. Most of them suffered from suffocation. But 45-year-old Sanguan Sankaew, believed to be a customer of the 7th floor spa and sauna service, was found dead.

Police investigated Surasak Amornchaicharn, the owner of Suapa Plaza on Monday, but had not yet pressed charges against him. Mr. Surasak said his building had been insured with Thanachart Insurance for 190 million baht.

About 200 mobile shop owners in the mall filed complaints with police but had not been allowed to enter the building to gather their belongings, as it was considered still dangerous. Damage from the fire was initially estimated at 100 million baht.

Meanwhile Prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Monday inspected the scene at Plaza and visited victims at the Central Hospital. He said concerned authorities were investigating the causes of both fires at Suapa Plaza and Santika Club. (TNA)

Source MCOT TNA news

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. I'd just like to know where these fire stations are located, since I've never seen any in the Sukhumvit area. Since Sukhumvit has so many high rises, having centrally located fire fighting facilities is essential, especially due to traffic congestion!

Hi :o

I know of one located near On Nut, in fact right beside the police station. Several western-made fire trucks/ladder trucks are stationed there.

Another one is at the end of soi Ekkamai, near the Rama IX intersection.

A question of my own interest - are the fire fighters in Bangkok full-time fire fighters or, like most in my native country Germany, volunteers who have to get to the fire stations first in case of an alarm?

And i truly hope they'll amend some traffic rules in a way that this nonsense is stopped that entire fire companies get stuck solidly in traffic jams... i have observed that multiple times, a number of fire trucks, sirens blaring, stuck motionless as nobody bothers to make room for them. They even have to stop at red traffic lights! Unthinkable in the west. This holds true for ambulances as well, only police seems to be able to go where ever and however they want.

Best regards.....

Thanh

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I am always terrified of fires when we go and stay at my boyfriend's sisters place in Bang Kapi. There are thousands of rooms in her complex and the fire escape door leads to a vertical drop. Luckily she is only on the second floor, but there are 6 floors of more than 50 rooms on each floor in her building. Most rooms have at least two people in. And one staircase. For upwards of 1000 people. Scary.

To be honest I am glad that these two stories have come so close together as I hope it makes the Thai authorities do something about the appalling fire safety provisions put into new buildings. Fat chance I know, but I don't think it will be long until there is a major tragedy in a residential complex...

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"About 60 fire engines were deployed to fight the blaze, causing traffic congestion on the Sua Pa road."

RIP to the victim(s) but sure hel_l alot of fire engines being deployed :o

Explorer

BKK has fire engines to spare. There is a bunch of new unused ones supplied by Steyr quietly rusting away in a yard somewhere.

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The shirtless guy in between two other shirtless guys in a picture above doesn't look Thai...

Three notable fires already this year in Bangkok. Time for the city to get serious about fire safety.

Oh well, a city of 6 million people plus only have two notable fires within 5 days... the ratio is seriously a lot better than many many cities around the world.

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"About 60 fire engines were deployed to fight the blaze, causing traffic congestion on the Sua Pa road."

RIP to the victim(s) but sure hel_l alot of fire engines being deployed :o

Explorer

BKK has fire engines to spare. There is a bunch of new unused ones supplied by Steyr quietly rusting away in a yard somewhere.

Wasn't the fire engine supply contract one of the ones that got the previous Govenor to step down and his predessor (Samak) to ignor all requests to act like an ethical politician?

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And i truly hope they'll amend some traffic rules in a way that this nonsense is stopped that entire fire companies get stuck solidly in traffic jams... i have observed that multiple times, a number of fire trucks, sirens blaring, stuck motionless as nobody bothers to make room for them. They even have to stop at red traffic lights! Unthinkable in the west. This holds true for ambulances as well, only police seems to be able to go where ever and however they want.

Best regards.....

Thanh

I agree entirely that the traffic situation is ridiculous! People ignore emergency vehicles even with their sirens blaring. Even on the night of the Zantika fire, I saw firemen pleading with drivers to let them through traffic being ignored. Apparently there are no laws to force drivers to give way to emergency vehicles, or enforcement is pathetic. In any case, it appears most drivers in Bangkok are more interested in getting to their destinations than saving people's lives!

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BKK has fire engines to spare. There is a bunch of new unused ones supplied by Steyr quietly rusting away in a yard somewhere.

Wasn't the fire engine supply contract one of the ones that got the previous Govenor to step down and his predessor (Samak) to ignor all requests to act like an ethical politician?

Yes. Samak didn't ignore requests to act like an ethical politician. Since he'd never met one he simply didn't know how to. :o

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  • 3 months later...
The shirtless guy in between two other shirtless guys in a picture above doesn't look Thai...

Your point being ?!?

Most pointless bump ever.

Thanks for making me think there was another fire going on. :)

Maybe thread-name should contain date of the event...

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Emergency vehicles in the US have to slow down and be able to stop at an intersection, a lot of people are very distracted while driving that they donot hear the blaring sirens and if they have the green light forget about it.

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topic title edited to show date.

Really? I just opened the thread thinking it was a new fire, as well. As of now, the thread title does not show a date...

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30092426-01.jpg

Rescuers rush a man to a hospital after rescuing him out of the Sua Pa Plaza building, which was hit by a big fire last night.

The Nation

Thanks for the great pics! It was good to see that Bangkok does have genuine fire fighting equipment. I'd just like to know where these fire stations are located, since I've never seen any in the Sukhumvit area. Since Sukhumvit has so many high rises, having centrally located fire fighting facilities is essential, especially due to traffic congestion!

bangkok has an official population of around 6-7million although im sure we would all agree its much higher ...and has only approx

40 fire stations..

to put this in to persperctive ...new york city had 230 fire station and london has 111 ...all three are of similar population.

there are major differences though ...

my understanding is tha BKK responds only to fires

new york also respond to medical emergencies + technical rescues

london responds to special service calls such as car accidents, rope and river rescues ..technical rescues , chemical incidents etc.

fires are linked to poverty ..the greater the poverty the greater the number of serious fires ..education , quality of appliances, drink drug and mental illness, crime all play a part. the busiest fire stations always serve the poorest populations.

Bkk will without doubt have a high number of dwelling fires ..considering the poor fire safety regs ..id say the death rate was much higher than in western countries.

whilst bkk firefighters are as brave as any others , maybe more so ..they will be hampered by poor training and badly maintained equipment. possibly making the job even harder ..strangly enough they get very little respect for their efforts compared to western firefighters.

just incase youre wondering ..i myself am a profesional firefighter with over 8 years under my belt inc long stints in command of londons busiest fire engine.

Oh and this is my first ever post here ...i normally just read ! so hello everyone

Edited by bartlett
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