Second Russian Tourist Dies From Bangkok Fire Injuries

[webfact]

Second Russian tourist dies from fire injuries

Noppadol Srithaweekard,

Thanatpong Khongsai

The Nation on Sunday

BANGKOK: -- A second Russian tourist died early yesterday from injuries received in a fire on Thursday night at the Grand Park Avenue Hotel on Sukhumvit Soi 22 in central Bangkok.

Tourist Igor Badera, 47, died from smoke inhalation and lack of oxygen to the brain, Dr Suwinai Budsarakhamwong, the director of Kluay Nam Thai 1 Hospital, said.

Igor was the husband of Liumila Badera, 40, who suffocated during the fire. Some 20 other people treated for injuries - mostly foreign hotel guests who suffered smoke inhalation - had been discharged, he said.

Bangkok Metropolitan Administrative (BMA) officials will inspect floor plans for high-rise hotels in the capital that applied for modification from tomorrow.

Deputy governor Theerachon Manomiapibul said the BMA public works department would on Monday inspect the floor plans of hotels that applied for modification in 1992 and the city approved in 1993 - to see if modifications were done according to approved plans. If not, the city could sue the hotels for breaching criminal and civil codes, he said.

The city has set up 50 working teams to inspect the safety of buildings in 50 districts and to advise landlords on boosting safety to legal standards. They would inspect nine types of buildings including high-rises, extra-large blocks, entertainment venues, hotels with over 80 rooms, condominiums and service establishments, he said. The committee would report back to BMA public works in 30 days.

Bangkok City Council chairman Suttichai Weerakulsunthorn said yesterday that, following two fires in high-rises in the past week, the council would assign a 17-member committee to draft a regulation so all buildings in Bangkok comply with the Building Control Act 1992.

The committee's first meeting would be held this week to gather information from district offices, the BMA public works department as well as Interior Ministry's Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, he said. They would discuss issues such as how to get basic fire safety measures in buildings built before 1992.

After that, if a building was found to violate the Building Control Act, district officials were authorised to not issue building inspection certificates and the landlord could face charges of illegally modifying a building or failing to install fire safety measures according to the Building Control Act.

Suttichai said BMA public works department and district officials would inspect high-rise blocks next week and report back to the new committee. He also affirmed his previous comment that the BMA may buy a helicopter to boost its fire-fighting and rescue capability.

-- The Nation 2012-03-11

[x5david]

Look for office rents to skyrocket if these new regulations are actually followed through with.

[Credo]

My condolences to the family and friends of the victims. Very sad for them.

I hold little hope of any regulations actually being implemented. They will have groups go around. Some will no doubt be paid off to say everything is OK. Any recommendations for changes will not be enforced. They will simply be found out-of-compliance when there is the next big fire and people die.

Enforcement and follow-up; big weaknesses here.

[anterian]

Safety in the third world has always been the responsibility of the individual. If a hotel has no fire fighting facilities then don't stay there. Look for sprinklers, fire escapes, fire blankets and extinguishers, if you cannot find them then move on, and say why. If enough people do this the message will be understood by the management.

[RichardinBKK]

Safety in the third world has always been the responsibility of the individual. If a hotel has no fire fighting facilities then don't stay there. Look for sprinklers, fire escapes, fire blankets and extinguishers, if you cannot find them then move on, and say why. If enough people do this the message will be understood by the management.

Here is a well written tutorial on basic survival skills in case of fire. http://www.wikihow.com/Survive-a-Hotel-Fire

I live on the 30th floor of a condo, and actually do keep my bag packed with all my paperwork, medical supplies etc. If we ever need to leave, we can begin the next day without missing a beat. Most importantly, if we are injured and decide to fly to the US, our passports, money, etc...are all set. I would hate to sit in a hospital for weeks trying to get a new passport, bank card etc. I keep scanned images of all important documents on Google Docs (on a special address I never send mail from...it is only for these documents, and has a very long user name and password.) I can go to an embassy, turn on their computer, and show images of my birth certificate, social security card, passport, visa, credit card, driver's license, travelers checks, college diploma, ...on and on... I even have supplied my family in the States with the user name / passwords for my local Thai account, since there is no way for them to figure all this out if we do not make it, and i have no interest in donating to the "local bank manager retirement fund."

As the article says...many people are injured or die while trying to gather up these things. Best to keep them in a sturdy back pack (free hands are vital in a fire) ready to go. I have a flashlight tied to the outside of the bag...during a fire is a poor time to look for one. Also, remember to put a spare key in there, since you may need it to get back into your room if there is no escape route. I have also walked the entire fire escape route to insure the doors work and all fire hoses are in place. I hope you never need to use this...I have been in a fire...and it is no fun.

[theanimaster]

One would have thought that these "checks" were made back in 1992 after they passed the new building code. I mean, you'd think there would have been at least one conversation that went something like "Hey... What about buildings that were built BEFORE this law we've just passed?"

But of course not. Instead the conversation went pretty much like "Hey, did you see those new, slim, Sony Walkmans? I wonder if we can get parliament to give us a couple of free ones... I mean seriously, how can we even dream to afford these things when we only make a couple million baht a month???"

[noitom]

Condolences to the Russian innocent bystanders' families. Look for that buffoon from the Thai Tourism Council to get the Russian embassy to remove any notice of this tragedy from its web site before it impacts Russian tourism. They will also get the hotel trade to downplay it and the media to detoxify it. And the media will pander to its demands, and we won't see much follow up on this fire in buildings business as each day goes by and it dies a quite death.

[anterian]

Safety in the third world has always been the responsibility of the individual. If a hotel has no fire fighting facilities then don't stay there. Look for sprinklers, fire escapes, fire blankets and extinguishers, if you cannot find them then move on, and say why. If enough people do this the message will be understood by the management.

Here is a well written tutorial on basic survival skills in case of fire. http://www.wikihow.c...ve-a-Hotel-Fire

I live on the 30th floor of a condo, and actually do keep my bag packed with all my paperwork, medical supplies etc. If we ever need to leave, we can begin the next day without missing a beat. Most importantly, if we are injured and decide to fly to the US, our passports, money, etc...are all set. I would hate to sit in a hospital for weeks trying to get a new passport, bank card etc. I keep scanned images of all important documents on Google Docs (on a special address I never send mail from...it is only for these documents, and has a very long user name and password.) I can go to an embassy, turn on their computer, and show images of my birth certificate, social security card, passport, visa, credit card, driver's license, travelers checks, college diploma, ...on and on... I even have supplied my family in the States with the user name / passwords for my local Thai account, since there is no way for them to figure all this out if we do not make it, and i have no interest in donating to the "local bank manager retirement fund."

As the article says...many people are injured or die while trying to gather up these things. Best to keep them in a sturdy back pack (free hands are vital in a fire) ready to go. I have a flashlight tied to the outside of the bag...during a fire is a poor time to look for one. Also, remember to put a spare key in there, since you may need it to get back into your room if there is no escape route. I have also walked the entire fire escape route to insure the doors work and all fire hoses are in place. I hope you never need to use this...I have been in a fire...and it is no fun.

Condos are often a special case, is the fire with you or below you or above you, can you escape upwards or downwards, do you use lifts or stairs? Evaluate these possibilities before you are faced with the decision for real. A face mask and enclosed goggles are also useful when dealing with smoke and fumes.

[RichardinBKK]

Safety in the third world has always been the responsibility of the individual. If a hotel has no fire fighting facilities then don't stay there. Look for sprinklers, fire escapes, fire blankets and extinguishers, if you cannot find them then move on, and say why. If enough people do this the message will be understood by the management.

Here is a well written tutorial on basic survival skills in case of fire. http://www.wikihow.c...ve-a-Hotel-Fire

I live on the 30th floor of a condo, and actually do keep my bag packed with all my paperwork, medical supplies etc. If we ever need to leave, we can begin the next day without missing a beat. Most importantly, if we are injured and decide to fly to the US, our passports, money, etc...are all set. I would hate to sit in a hospital for weeks trying to get a new passport, bank card etc. I keep scanned images of all important documents on Google Docs (on a special address I never send mail from...it is only for these documents, and has a very long user name and password.) I can go to an embassy, turn on their computer, and show images of my birth certificate, social security card, passport, visa, credit card, driver's license, travelers checks, college diploma, ...on and on... I even have supplied my family in the States with the user name / passwords for my local Thai account, since there is no way for them to figure all this out if we do not make it, and i have no interest in donating to the "local bank manager retirement fund."

As the article says...many people are injured or die while trying to gather up these things. Best to keep them in a sturdy back pack (free hands are vital in a fire) ready to go. I have a flashlight tied to the outside of the bag...during a fire is a poor time to look for one. Also, remember to put a spare key in there, since you may need it to get back into your room if there is no escape route. I have also walked the entire fire escape route to insure the doors work and all fire hoses are in place. I hope you never need to use this...I have been in a fire...and it is no fun.

Condos are often a special case, is the fire with you or below you or above you, can you escape upwards or downwards, do you use lifts or stairs? Evaluate these possibilities before you are faced with the decision for real. A face mask and enclosed goggles are also useful when dealing with smoke and fumes.

Thanks for your reply. Not sure why condos are a special case....they are very much like hotels...yes? Anyway, the odds are, in a 34 story building, that a fire would be from below. i would never use a lift, and honestly do not think they would ever get us off the roof. I am a scuba diver, and do have a really good mask (no tanks) so your advice there has real value and I never thought how handy it would be to put it on...so thanks for that idea!

[anterian]

Safety in the third world has always been the responsibility of the individual. If a hotel has no fire fighting facilities then don't stay there. Look for sprinklers, fire escapes, fire blankets and extinguishers, if you cannot find them then move on, and say why. If enough people do this the message will be understood by the management.

Here is a well written tutorial on basic survival skills in case of fire. http://www.wikihow.c...ve-a-Hotel-Fire

I live on the 30th floor of a condo, and actually do keep my bag packed with all my paperwork, medical supplies etc. If we ever need to leave, we can begin the next day without missing a beat. Most importantly, if we are injured and decide to fly to the US, our passports, money, etc...are all set. I would hate to sit in a hospital for weeks trying to get a new passport, bank card etc. I keep scanned images of all important documents on Google Docs (on a special address I never send mail from...it is only for these documents, and has a very long user name and password.) I can go to an embassy, turn on their computer, and show images of my birth certificate, social security card, passport, visa, credit card, driver's license, travelers checks, college diploma, ...on and on... I even have supplied my family in the States with the user name / passwords for my local Thai account, since there is no way for them to figure all this out if we do not make it, and i have no interest in donating to the "local bank manager retirement fund."

As the article says...many people are injured or die while trying to gather up these things. Best to keep them in a sturdy back pack (free hands are vital in a fire) ready to go. I have a flashlight tied to the outside of the bag...during a fire is a poor time to look for one. Also, remember to put a spare key in there, since you may need it to get back into your room if there is no escape route. I have also walked the entire fire escape route to insure the doors work and all fire hoses are in place. I hope you never need to use this...I have been in a fire...and it is no fun.

Condos are often a special case, is the fire with you or below you or above you, can you escape upwards or downwards, do you use lifts or stairs? Evaluate these possibilities before you are faced with the decision for real. A face mask and enclosed goggles are also useful when dealing with smoke and fumes.

Thanks for your reply. Not sure why condos are a special case....they are very much like hotels...yes? Anyway, the odds are, in a 34 story building, that a fire would be from below. i would never use a lift, and honestly do not think they would ever get us off the roof. I am a scuba diver, and do have a really good mask (no tanks) so your advice there has real value and I never thought how handy it would be to put it on...so thanks for that idea!

I meant a special case in contrast to a normal house or small hotel. Staircases should have a fireproof door on each landing, otherwise they become chimneys to funnel the fire upwards.

[toenail]

Developing countries (use to be called "third world" which I sometimes think needs to be attached to Thailand for the way the can neglect safety regulations for tourists or for their own citizens...) are not known for their safety enforcements. BUT!!!! I would assume a 5 or 4 star hotel would have its own safety checks--isn't that part of the reason for staying in a "better" hotel???? The Grand Park hotel is rated a 4 star. You would think the management would check out if the sprinkler system worked. Now I wonder if the Hilton, Shereton, Holiday Inn, Pullman and all the others do safety checks... Maybe we should hold a match to the sprinkler system in our hotel room and see if it works next time. (I have checked a couple clubs in BKK for its Fire escape doors to be NOT locked and a couple of them have been blocked. Needless to say, I leave.)

[bri9646]

Condolences to the Russian innocent bystanders' families. Look for that buffoon from the Thai Tourism Council to get the Russian embassy to remove any notice of this tragedy from its web site before it impacts Russian tourism. They will also get the hotel trade to downplay it and the media to detoxify it. And the media will pander to its demands, and we won't see much follow up on this fire in buildings business as each day goes by and it dies a quite death.

My wife is Russian and her family told her it's all over the news there. Big story. However, it does amaze me how little has been made of this fire here in Bangkok. Really, I shouldn't be surprised though. Don't speak of it and it didn't happen is normal here in the Land of Smiles.