Fire At Phuket Resort Leaves Aussie Travellers With Nothing

[webfact]

Fire at Phuket resort leaves Aussie travellers with nothing

PHUKET: -- A BOXING Day fire at a Thailand resort has left many Australian tourists with nothing.

The blaze broke out at 4.30am in Patong, Phuket.

Gladstone resident Kathy Andrews, who is staying at a neighboring resort, awoke to the sound of loud explosions and smoke early Boxing Day morning.

Ms Andrews said she saw staff running around everywhere and Australian tourists standing around wearing nothing but towels.

"They have lost everything," she said. "I did get a lady some clothes."

The cause of the fire is suspected to be electrical, according to Ms Andrews.

"Most of the building is gone," she said.

Source: http://www.cqnews.co...nothin/1697681/

-- CQ News 2012-12-26

[BookMan]

What an awful way to spend your boxing day. Bad news for those who lost all their belongings but lucky no one died in the fire.

Hope the Australian embassy sorts them out quick smart.

[Rionoir]

And the resort IS... ?

[cloudhopper]

No doubt all the inspections were in perfect order. Just like the Tiger. Glad no one died, this time.

[Rimmer]

Off topic strange post removed also quoted reply

[BookMan]

Just noticed the news updates report that no Australians were involved in this incident

[Litlos]

The actual article says there were no Aussies involved so the heading is misleading, the witness was an Aussie.

There is also no reference to Americans with or without bottles and sex workers.

Cheers

[Shot]

And the resort IS... ?

Royal Phawadee Village in Patong

[Guest]

Phuket news has started to use maps to point the locations of events (which is great).

http://www.thephuketnews.com/fire-severely-damages-resort-in-patong-35693.php

[Phronesis]

What an awful way to spend your boxing day.

Better to be standing around in a towel than swimming for your life in a tsunami

[BookMan]

What an awful way to spend your boxing day.

Better to be standing around in a towel than swimming for your life in a tsunami

Without a doubt

Why not go and find the people from the fire and let them know of their good fortune?

[webfact]

Phuket tourists run for their lives as Patong hotel fire breaks out

Phuket Gazette

PHUKET: -- Tourists staying at a luxury hotel in Phuket ran for their lives after waking up to smoke and fire in the pre-dawn dark today.

Seven fire trucks arrived at the well-known Royal Phawadee Village hotel in Sawatdirak Road, near the Patong beachfront, at about 5:30am.

Firefighters took about an hour to bring the flames under control.

Suchanart Khonkaew and her German husband were in room 111 on the second floor when the fire broke out.

“I was asleep, but I woke up feeling hot, as if the air conditioning had cut out. So I got up and then I smelled the smoke. I opened the door to the corridor and saw that the hotel was on fire.

“My husband and I ran for our lives. We did not stop to pick up anything from the room,” she said.

“Everything in our room was damaged. I was so frightened I did not know what to do. We checked-in on December 14, and we planned to check out on January 4,” she added.

Kowit Phurayaphan was in room 112.

“I was in the room alone. I heard hotel staff shouting to cut off the electricity. I got up to see what was going on and then I saw the fire.

“I ran, and I didn’t stop to pick up anything. I was very scared,” he told the Phuket Gazette.

“After the fire was out, I went back to check my stuff. Almost everything in the room was damaged, except for the wardrobe. Everything that was not in the wardrobe was damaged, including my cell phone,” he added.

Patong Police Superintendent Chiraphat Pochanaphan confirmed that no injuries were reported in the blaze.

“So far, all we know is that about 11 hotel rooms were damaged. Seven of them were gutted and the other four suffered partial damage. Fortunately, nobody was injured or killed in the fire,” he told the Phuket Gazette.

Col Chiraphat explained that the fire started in an electrical control room located between the Royal Phawadee and another hotel.

“Hotel security staff told us that the fire started in an electrical control room on the ground floor. They tried to put out the flames by using fire extinguishers, but the fire soon grew out of control,” he added.

“At this stage we believe that the fire was probably caused by an electrical short circuit. However, the fire-investigation team will inspect the scene to confirm the actual cause of fire,” Col Chiraphat added.

Hotel owner Claude de Crissey told the Gazette that the hotel was fully booked.

“I did not see the fire. I received a call from my staff, so I came as soon as I could to look after my guests. We have 36 rooms. All rooms were occupied,” he said.

“As for the cause of fire, I have to wait for officers to verify that. I am just taking the best care of my hotel guests for now,” he added.

A hotel staffer explained to police that all 36 rooms at the high-end hotel were made of teak.

“We have insurance with three companies. We will be taking good care of our guests. We will make sure that they have accommodation for the duration of their bookings with us and we will compensate them for the loss of their belongings.

“We estimate the damage to cost not less than about 10 million baht,” he added.

Source: http://www.phuketgaz...-out-19804.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2012-12-26

[stevenl]

And the resort IS... ?

Agree with you, this really is a very strange article. The most crucial information, the name of the resort, is missing, and the heading is even more misleading than usual.

[steelepulse]

From post 12

>>Seven fire trucks arrived at the well-known Royal Phawadee Village hotel in Sawatdirak Road, near the Patong beachfront, at about 5:30am.

[stevenl]

From post 12

>>Seven fire trucks arrived at the well-known Royal Phawadee Village hotel in Sawatdirak Road, near the Patong beachfront, at about 5:30am.

Yes, also Shot already gave that information, but in the original post nothing was mentioned.

[IrishIvan]

From post 12

>>Seven fire trucks arrived at the well-known Royal Phawadee Village hotel in Sawatdirak Road, near the Patong beachfront, at about 5:30am.

Yes, also Shot already gave that information, but in the original post nothing was mentioned.

Legal reasons? Arson?

[skorchio]

I would have lent him a pair of boxershort. But I am not sure what I would lend him on another day of the year .....

[Payboy]

Just noticed the news updates report that no Australians were involved in this incident

Austrians then?

[BookMan]

Just noticed the news updates report that no Australians were involved in this incident

Austrians then?

Could be. Many people do confuse the two

[JulesMad]

Nobody died, THAT is most important!!!

For the rest, yes it is a nuisance to buy new stuf, but they were all "smart" tourists and the insureance will pay. Next please....

[Briggsy]

The newspaper dare not print the name of the hotel as it could be sued for defamation.

[vijer]

I was in the room alone. I heard hotel staff shouting to cut off the electricity. I got up to see what was going on and then I saw the fire.

No point in running around telling the visitors to wake up and get out, uh maybe we can ask Buddha to extinguish the fire and nobody will know there was a fire.

Do you think the hotel staff realizes that turning off the electricity after the fire has started will not cause the fire to go out?

On a personal note: unless the fire was in my room I would at least have my computer, passport, money and phone with me when I left the room, F the towel, if the locals want to look at my jewels I don't care.

[webfact]

UPDATE:

Short-circuit sets Phuket hotel ablaze

Salinee Prab

The Nation

Phuket

A five-star hotel in Phuket caught fire yesterday morning, causing Bt10 million in losses, though nobody was injured.

PHUKET: -- Police said the fire broke out at about 5am on the first floor of the three-storey wooden building, before spreading to the second and third floors of the Royal Phawadee Village Hotel on Patong Beach. Ten fire trucks were used to bring the blaze under control after about an hour and a half.

Hotel owner Claude De Caissey, 60, who is also the French honorary consul in Phuket, said 13 rooms in the hotel were damaged, six seriously. He estimated the losses at about Bt10 million.

A security guard at the hotel said he saw sparks at the electrical control panel on the first floor and tried to extinguish them, but the fire spread quickly, burning a PVC pipe and travelling to the higher floors of the building.

He said he was unable to bring the fire under control despite using five fire extinguishers. He then decided to wake up the guests and get them out of the premises before calling the police and the Patong Municipality's disaster prevention and mitigation office.

Police believe that the fire was possibly caused by a short circuit, though inspection is pending.

-- The Nation 2012-12-27

[stevenl]

The newspaper dare not print the name of the hotel as it could be sued for defamation.

Ah, that's why they were printing the name of Tiger disco when it caught fire, and the same with other fires.

[blackthorn2005]

I cannot believe this s still happening in Thailand, after all the previous tragedies! What kind of fool builds a wooden hotel? The same one that has dangerous electrical gear and NO SMOKE ALARMS. If the guest did not wake up due to the heat and smell of burning, this situation could have been much worse. How come the staff did not raise the alarm? The whole things needs to be seriously investigated.