Bangkok plans fire and quake drills

BANGKOK: -- Bangkok’s municipal authorities plan to hold fire drills and quake response drills in the city’s high-rise buildings to test the capital’s preparedness to handle such situations.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) will seek for cooperation from the military and other civilian and volunteer emergency response units to jointly hold the drills, an advisor to the Bangkok governor and a member of the city's working committee in charge of following up the governor's policies, Tortrakul Yommanark, told TNA on Tuesday.

Dates for the drills have not yet been scheduled.

The announcement was made after a meeting of the committee.

The panel was chaired by retired police general Wasit Dejkunchorn and included former Army chief Gen. Wimol Wongwanich.

Mr. Tortrakul said the panel initially proposed that, for the sake of realism, the drills should be conducted without prior notification to the public.

The chairman, though, successfully lobbied against the idea for fear it would cause public panic.

--TNA 2005-02-02

What a wonderful idea.

Do you think other countries will follow Thailand's glowing example.

PS. I can remember Fire Drill at primary school, over 50 years ago.

Mr. Tortrakul said the panel initially proposed that, for the sake of realism, the drills should be conducted without prior notification to the public.

for some reason the image of basil fawlty running the fire drill at his guest house springs to mind.

this whole country seems to be one huge fawlty towers.

Bearing in mind that the citizens have been told that Bangkok is not at risk from a quake the exercise seems rather futile , or is there something which we have not been told ?