Popular Swedish Tourist Paradise In Thailand Burned Down: Mae Phim

[dude007]

awful... one day the world will be destroyed by fire, not by water... Another proof that firework (even small firework sold behind the counter) should be regulated and left in hands of professionals ONLY, if not responsible officials ONLY. How many more damage and accidents are needed to understand this?

[attento]

Looks like none of these establishments even had fire extinguishers. I am sure if something like this were built in Sweden, they would immediately be shut down by authorities. Ah well... This is Thailand....

Maybe, one of the reasons they come here is just that - it is not Sweden ?

[attento]

awful... one day the world will be destroyed by fire, not by water... Another proof that firework (even small firework sold behind the counter) should be regulated and left in hands of professionals ONLY, if not responsible officials ONLY. How many more damage and accidents are needed to understand this?

Not destroyed by water, but by the lack thereof

[Thai at Heart]

Looks like none of these establishments even had fire extinguishers. I am sure if something like this were built in Sweden, they would immediately be shut down by authorities. Ah well... This is Thailand....

Maybe, one of the reasons they come here is just that - it is not Sweden ?

Well, its cheaper and warmer, but your business Burns down that bit easier......

[MEL1]

Drove by this morning. look to be about 40% of the row of restaurants where burnt to the ground with another slightly damaged. Walked through 5 places that where open and did not see any fire extinguishers visible.

May be the fire extinguishers were made by 'Thai High Quality Fire Disposables GmbH'??

More towel space, in the early mornings?

-mel.

[Hedghog]

Its hardly a national disaster.

A few wooden huts.

[Thai at Heart]

Drove by this morning. look to be about 40% of the row of restaurants where burnt to the ground with another slightly damaged. Walked through 5 places that where open and did not see any fire extinguishers visible.

May be the fire extinguishers were made by 'Thai High Quality Fire Disposables GmbH'??

More towel space, in the early mornings?

-mel.

A couple of fire extinguishers are never going to put out a reed roof fire in dry season, no matter how hard you try, unless you do it in the first minute.

The fire would have grown very fast.

Edited January 2, 2013 by Thai at Heart

[MEL1]

Drove by this morning. look to be about 40% of the row of restaurants where burnt to the ground with another slightly damaged. Walked through 5 places that where open and did not see any fire extinguishers visible.

May be the fire extinguishers were made by 'Thai High Quality Fire Disposables GmbH'??

More towel space, in the early mornings?

-mel.

A couple of fire extinguishers are never going to put out a reed roof fire in dry season, no matter how hard you try, unless you do it in the first minute.

The fire would have grown very fast.

I think you missed something......

-mel.

[Thai at Heart]

Drove by this morning. look to be about 40% of the row of restaurants where burnt to the ground with another slightly damaged. Walked through 5 places that where open and did not see any fire extinguishers visible.

May be the fire extinguishers were made by 'Thai High Quality Fire Disposables GmbH'??

More towel space, in the early mornings?

-mel.

A couple of fire extinguishers are never going to put out a reed roof fire in dry season, no matter how hard you try, unless you do it in the first minute.

The fire would have grown very fast.

I think you missed something......

-mel.

A firework landed on a roof right? No one would even see it. I've been in those bars. The roofs are reed lattices, tinder dry right now.

It would have caught and spread very fast. If i remember, all the roofs are connected together. If it couldn't be extinguished very fast, little hope to stop it running

[jimbeam1]

[attachment=190112:20130101_074548.jpg

The restaurants are leased from the municipality and not owned, is cost around 1,000,000 baht to get a lease for the small restaurants.

Same in Bang-Saen.

Jb1

[maidu]

I have built around 30 structures in Thailand, from roofed salas to 3 story buildings. Often, people suggest I build more 'quaint' with bamboo siding and thatched roofs. I always say no, for the reason mentioned in this thread.

[stoli]

What a shame for these business owners and the town of Laem Mae Phim. This is one of the nicest towns along the eastern seaboard. I know that they will come back to their beauty, but I am sorry that they had to go through this. If you are near in the future, stop and support them. Great, great, town. Just beautiful.

[Thai at Heart]

What a shame for these business owners and the town of Laem Mae Phim. This is one of the nicest towns along the eastern seaboard. I know that they will come back to their beauty, but I am sorry that they had to go through this. If you are near in the future, stop and support them. Great, great, town. Just beautiful.

Whilst i appreciate your sentiments, your description doesn't match anything i remember of lam mae phim at all.

[qdinthailand]

Shame, I have a friend who owned a lovely little bar there on that strip.

Everything was made of wood.

You have to wonder who the idiots are letting off fireworks around wooden structures like this.,

Maybe the same idiots that moved in after the tsunami - snatched up all the good empty beach front and built them high-rises. They call them entrepreneurs.

Hmm. Idiots, eh?

Pray tell, which tsunami are you referring to, that washed away Rayong?

You HeijoshinCool, seem to have the same brain dysfunction as Pedro01.

[Sayonarax]

Well that escalated quickly...

[malcyx]

There are so many of these cheap wood n grass thatched structures all over many countries..

accidents waiting to happen.. high winds,storms,sea, fire...

a lit cigarette could do same damage if unnoticed..

They are built only to make maximum profit at good locations, if they get dammaged , just rebuild

the cheap structures n start again...

Young kids are not educated in the dangers of what may hapen in such a situation..

even in countries where there is education of such kinds, the kids will still play with fireworks ...

thankfully nobody was hurt .. ..

.

[khaowong1]

Shame, I have a friend who owned a lovely little bar there on that strip.

Everything was made of wood.

You have to wonder who the idiots are letting off fireworks around wooden structures like this.,

This is Thailand... there is no such thing as foresight, only hindsight and even that's suspect.

[Nisa]

hmmm - if only Thailand was more like the west and all buildings looked the same as the west and everything cost as much and was handled like the west ... then we could all fly over here on vacation and feel like we never left home and if we add all the upgrades the TV Expert posters recommend there would be no crime, tragedies or accident too ... except for all the Thai people but assume most posters would like to see them gone too.

Edited January 2, 2013 by Nisa

[attento]

Drove by this morning. look to be about 40% of the row of restaurants where burnt to the ground with another slightly damaged. Walked through 5 places that where open and did not see any fire extinguishers visible.

Would fire extinguishers have been of any use against a fast spreading fire, high up in tinder-dry roof materials ? and how many of the merry revellers would have had any instruction on their effective use?

[hoopmonk]

I was there in March and there is an Italian man who owns one restaurant on that strip and his food is amazing!

Very authentic and so much love! His place was next to Tequila Sunset, on the north end of the strip.

[Nisa]

Drove by this morning. look to be about 40% of the row of restaurants where burnt to the ground with another slightly damaged. Walked through 5 places that where open and did not see any fire extinguishers visible.

Would fire extinguishers have been of any use against a fast spreading fire, high up in tinder-dry roof materials ? and how many of the merry revellers would have had any instruction on their effective use?

Yea, maybe they didn't see the instructions that said after use throw empty container into burning building ;-)

Edited January 2, 2013 by Nisa

[dcutman]

Drove by this morning. look to be about 40% of the row of restaurants where burnt to the ground with another slightly damaged. Walked through 5 places that where open and did not see any fire extinguishers visible.

Would fire extinguishers have been of any use against a fast spreading fire, high up in tinder-dry roof materials ? and how many of the merry revellers would have had any instruction on their effective use?

I dont know I was not there to witness it and no, extinguishers would have had little use. Where in the article did it say it started high up on the roof? It possibly could have started where the roof is only at 2 meters, and possibly would not be having this discussion, if somebody extinguished it quickly. Your second question is so ridiculous I wont answer that one.

Would you agree it is prudent to have fire extinguishers handy in any structure, and there would be more of them if your building was constructed of open timber and thatch where open flames are used to cook?

FYI they do have and make fire extinguishers in Thailand and are very available in all styles and sizes, with the 4 large informational pictures on them for use. Just like they make and use world wide

Edited January 2, 2013 by dcutman

[a99az]

People who live in grass houses should not throw fireworks.

[Nisa]

Drove by this morning. look to be about 40% of the row of restaurants where burnt to the ground with another slightly damaged. Walked through 5 places that where open and did not see any fire extinguishers visible.

Would fire extinguishers have been of any use against a fast spreading fire, high up in tinder-dry roof materials ? and how many of the merry revellers would have had any instruction on their effective use?

I dont know I was not there to witness it and no, extinguishers would have had little use. Where in the article did it say it started high up on the roof? It possibly could have started where the roof is only at 2 meters, and possibly would not be having this discussion, if somebody extinguished it quickly. Your second question is so ridiculous I wont answer that one.

Would you agree it is prudent to have fire extinguishers handy in any structure, and there would be more of them if your building was constructed of open timber and thatch where open flames are used to cook?

FYI they do have and make fire extinguishers in Thailand and are very available in all styles and sizes, with the 4 large informational pictures on them for use. Just like they make and use world wide

Actually a hose with water would be the best bet in fighting a fire that started this way and you are are really reaching with your 2 foot high roof fire which could have easily been put out and your other conclusion that fire fighting equipment wasn't present during a fire because you didn't see it in charred remains is a strange one.

The dam_n fire started because of an errant firework ... these types of fires happen all over the world (often resulting in deaths) as do fires in kitchen's of businesses that end up burning entire places down regardless if they have sprinkler systems and fire extinguishers. More developed countries may have different building codes and more and better equipped fire fighters that have better response times but for the love of god we are not in one of these countries and this false superiority just seem to know no limits sometimes.

[dcutman]

Drove by this morning. look to be about 40% of the row of restaurants where burnt to the ground with another slightly damaged. Walked through 5 places that where open and did not see any fire extinguishers visible.

Would fire extinguishers have been of any use against a fast spreading fire, high up in tinder-dry roof materials ? and how many of the merry revellers would have had any instruction on their effective use?

I dont know I was not there to witness it and no, extinguishers would have had little use. Where in the article did it say it started high up on the roof? It possibly could have started where the roof is only at 2 meters, and possibly would not be having this discussion, if somebody extinguished it quickly. Your second question is so ridiculous I wont answer that one.

Would you agree it is prudent to have fire extinguishers handy in any structure, and there would be more of them if your building was constructed of open timber and thatch where open flames are used to cook?

FYI they do have and make fire extinguishers in Thailand and are very available in all styles and sizes, with the 4 large informational pictures on them for use. Just like they make and use world wide

Actually a hose with water would be the best bet in fighting a fire that started this way and you are are really reaching with your 2 foot high roof fire which could have easily been put out and your other conclusion that fire fighting equipment wasn't present during a fire because you didn't see it in charred remains is a strange one.

The dam_n fire started because of an errant firework ... these types of fires happen all over the world (often resulting in deaths) as do fires in kitchen's of businesses that end up burning entire places down regardless if they have sprinkler systems and fire extinguishers. More developed countries may have different building codes and more and better equipped fire fighters that have better response times but for the love of god we are not in one of these countries and this false superiority just seem to know no limits sometimes.

Not sure what color of glasses you had on when you read and responded to my post. But you might want to consider getting help.

[SteeleJoe]

Not sure what color of glasses you had on when you read and responded to my post. But you might want to consider getting help.

You must not have met Nisa before. As far as I can see he is absolutely 100% consistent (ie he has only one color of glasses when it comes to Thailand).

Sent from my iPad using ThaiVisa ap

[dcutman]

Not sure what color of glasses you had on when you read and responded to my post. But you might want to consider getting help.

You must not have met Nisa before. As far as I can see he is absolutely 100% consistent (ie he has only one color of glasses when it comes to Thailand).

Sent from my iPad using ThaiVisa ap

Apparently.

[Nisa]

Would fire extinguishers have been of any use against a fast spreading fire, high up in tinder-dry roof materials ? and how many of the merry revellers would have had any instruction on their effective use?

I dont know I was not there to witness it and no, extinguishers would have had little use. Where in the article did it say it started high up on the roof? It possibly could have started where the roof is only at 2 meters, and possibly would not be having this discussion, if somebody extinguished it quickly. Your second question is so ridiculous I wont answer that one.

Would you agree it is prudent to have fire extinguishers handy in any structure, and there would be more of them if your building was constructed of open timber and thatch where open flames are used to cook?

FYI they do have and make fire extinguishers in Thailand and are very available in all styles and sizes, with the 4 large informational pictures on them for use. Just like they make and use world wide

Actually a hose with water would be the best bet in fighting a fire that started this way and you are are really reaching with your 2 foot high roof fire which could have easily been put out and your other conclusion that fire fighting equipment wasn't present during a fire because you didn't see it in charred remains is a strange one.

The dam_n fire started because of an errant firework ... these types of fires happen all over the world (often resulting in deaths) as do fires in kitchen's of businesses that end up burning entire places down regardless if they have sprinkler systems and fire extinguishers. More developed countries may have different building codes and more and better equipped fire fighters that have better response times but for the love of god we are not in one of these countries and this false superiority just seem to know no limits sometimes.

Not sure what color of glasses you had on when you read and responded to my post. But you might want to consider getting help.

Lets try it another way ...

1) Fire extinguishers may have been present but in fact were used during the fire.

2) A typical fire extinguisher lasts about 10 to 15 seconds. The big ones that are water based may last about a minute.

3) A non-electrical or grease fire is best put out with a water hose.

4) The fire was started by a firework that misfired and landed on a "thatched roof" and spread very quickly.

5) A fire extinguisher would have been useless in such a scenario given their purpose and design and how quickly the fire spread and how long it would take to grab one, get outside and get into a position to aim it at the fire..

Yes fire extinguishers are a good idea to have around in homes, business and cars but almost surely would have been useless in this scenario.

Going into burned down or remaining businesses after the fire to look for fire extinguishers after a blaze is not at all the way to tell if they were present during the balze.

Sh@t happens as the saying go. When you have a rocket land on a roof made of such easy burning fuel and have near by structures with the same fuel sources then fires spread very quickly. Happens probably daily all over the world were to both businesses and homes where multiple structures burn and yes there is always a way for us expert keyboard warriors to speak about how it should not have happened and how we know better ... because sh@t never happens to us..

[Ricardo]

I dont know I was not there to witness it and no, extinguishers would have had little use. Where in the article did it say it started high up on the roof? It possibly could have started where the roof is only at 2 meters, and possibly would not be having this discussion, if somebody extinguished it quickly. Your second question is so ridiculous I wont answer that one.

Would you agree it is prudent to have fire extinguishers handy in any structure, and there would be more of them if your building was constructed of open timber and thatch where open flames are used to cook?

FYI they do have and make fire extinguishers in Thailand and are very available in all styles and sizes, with the 4 large informational pictures on them for use. Just like they make and use world wide

Actually a hose with water would be the best bet in fighting a fire that started this way and you are are really reaching with your 2 foot high roof fire which could have easily been put out and your other conclusion that fire fighting equipment wasn't present during a fire because you didn't see it in charred remains is a strange one.

The dam_n fire started because of an errant firework ... these types of fires happen all over the world (often resulting in deaths) as do fires in kitchen's of businesses that end up burning entire places down regardless if they have sprinkler systems and fire extinguishers. More developed countries may have different building codes and more and better equipped fire fighters that have better response times but for the love of god we are not in one of these countries and this false superiority just seem to know no limits sometimes.

Just to point out that dcutman said "where the roof is only at 2 meters", not "your 2 foot high roof".

[Nisa]

I dont know I was not there to witness it and no, extinguishers would have had little use. Where in the article did it say it started high up on the roof? It possibly could have started where the roof is only at 2 meters, and possibly would not be having this discussion, if somebody extinguished it quickly. Your second question is so ridiculous I wont answer that one.

Would you agree it is prudent to have fire extinguishers handy in any structure, and there would be more of them if your building was constructed of open timber and thatch where open flames are used to cook?

FYI they do have and make fire extinguishers in Thailand and are very available in all styles and sizes, with the 4 large informational pictures on them for use. Just like they make and use world wide

Actually a hose with water would be the best bet in fighting a fire that started this way and you are are really reaching with your 2 foot high roof fire which could have easily been put out and your other conclusion that fire fighting equipment wasn't present during a fire because you didn't see it in charred remains is a strange one.

The dam_n fire started because of an errant firework ... these types of fires happen all over the world (often resulting in deaths) as do fires in kitchen's of businesses that end up burning entire places down regardless if they have sprinkler systems and fire extinguishers. More developed countries may have different building codes and more and better equipped fire fighters that have better response times but for the love of god we are not in one of these countries and this false superiority just seem to know no limits sometimes.

Just to point out that dcutman said "where the roof is only at 2 meters", not "your 2 foot high roof".

Yup - didn't catch that originally as well as originally believing he said he didn't see fire extinguishers in the burnt out buildings.. Time to stop pretending I don't need to wear my glasses (rose tinted or otherwise) when on the computer. Although I personally don't believe they would have done a bit of good in this situation, I responded in a way believing he was going out of his way to come up with unrealistic argument.

Although a 2 meter high roof is realistic, unless there was access to be above or at least even with the fire to be able to spray the base of the fire, an extinguisher is not the right tool as they are made for small fires and typically the ones with water that last about a minute are not really pressurized and by the time you got the extinguisher out and got the proper angle to spray, the fire would be too big and the attention spent doing all this should have been spent making sure people got out safe. If it was a pressurized chemical extinguisher then the spray would last a much shorter time and all the other factors would still be in play.

Fire extinguisher are made for small fires that are not spreading quickly and I certainly could be wrong, this was almost surely a fast moving fire and there is no indication of it started with a tiny spark (very doubtful) or if the rocket exploded causing a large area to ignite (likely) or even if the rocket was still shooting flames when it landed and did a little dance on the thatched roof spreading fire in numerous areas.

Although hoses would have been the best option, my guess is by the time people got evacuated and realized what was going on and were able to get to any type of fire extinguishing equipment or material, it was probably too late to do anything.

Lessons can always be learned from fires and folks should take reasonable precautions but in this case, it would seem there was not much that the owners could have realistically done except to alter their roof composition.