Bangkok: Fire At Grand Tower Inn Leaves 1 Dead, Several Foreigners Injured

[webfact]

Fire at Grand Tower Inn leaves 1 dead, 11 injured

Noppadon Sritaweekas

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Grand Tower Inn has been declared completely off-limits by the city after a raging inferno ripped through most floors yesterday, leaving one hotel worker dead and 11 people, including several foreigners, hospitalised with smoke inhalation.

"We quickly evacuated guests while we were trying to control the blaze," said Preeda Ketcharoen, a hotel receptionist.

Investigators were looking into suspicious circumstances surrounding the source of the fire.

Hotel staff reported that the first fire alarm went off on the seventh floor and responded immediately. They saw a cart stacked with bed sheets on fire. But soon they came across more bed-sheet trolleys on fire on the fifth and sixth floors.

The eight-floor building at the entrance of Charoen Nakhon Soi 14/2 in Klong San district has been operating as a hotel for more than 10 years.

Guest registrations showed 20 rooms were occupied, including the one where Pongsakorn Boon-aram, a 45-year-old waiter, was found dead.

"I don't know how he got into that room," Preeda said.

"It was locked from the inside."

A female guest who had booked that room left her key card at the counter before going out at around 11pm on Saturday.

"I think we will have to check footage from security cameras," he said.

Pongsakorn had chronic health problems and often fainted, he said.

Acharawadee Chaisuwirat, director of the Klong San District Office, said Pongsakorn did not suffer any burns but had blood and soot around his nose.

Pol Maj General Rassadakorn Yingyong, commander of Metropolitan Police Division 8, said six police investigators had been interrogating all guests and hotel staff, but the cause of the fire could not yet be determined.

"At this point, the fire that finally engulfed the building seems to have come from the storage room on the first floor," he said.

Acharawadee said 11 people were hospitalised and three of them were in intensive care. The three were a Chinese, Korean and Japanese.

"Two other victims are still receiving treatment at the hospital but their conditions are not serious," she said.

Dr Petchpong Kumjornkijjakarn, director of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's Erawan Centre, said all the patients showed symptoms of smoke inhalation.

Pol Lt Colonel Avudh Udomrat, an inspector at Samray Police Station, received the report on the fire at around 2am. The BMA quickly dispatched 10 fire engines to the scene and found thick smoke billowing out from the third up to the seventh floors. Cranes of some fire trucks were used to rescue several guests who had called for help from their room balconies.

It took the firemen more than one hour to control the conflagration.

"We're worried that the heat from the fire might have weakened the structure of the building, so we have restricted access pending detailed inspection and examination by the BMA's Public Works Department," Acharawadee said.

Decho Iamcheerangkoon, managing director of Grand Tower Inn, suspected arson.

"I will ask the inn's manager if the hotel has fired any employee recently or quarrelled with any guest," he said.

Acharawadee said the property's safety equipment and measures have passed annual inspections and are up to standards.

Decho said Dhipaya Insurance would help estimate the damages from the fire.

"We have third-party insurance too," he said.

-- The Nation 2013-01-28

[chooka]

definately sounds like arson.

[ChrisY1]

Yet another deadly fire....."I think we will have to check footage from security cameras," he said......What a good idea!!

[Payboy]

A female guest who had booked that room left her key card at the counter before going out at around 11pm on Saturday.

I thought the very purpose of having key cards is that guests don't have to leave them at the front desk when going out.

[noitom]

"I think we will have to check footage from security cameras," he said.

Now this is an only in Thailand brainstorm.

[diddums]

I think...therefore I am.

[Tropicalevo]

"I think we will have to check footage from security cameras," he said.

Now this is an only in Thailand brainstorm.

Yet another deadly fire....."I think we will have to check footage from security cameras," he said......What a good idea!!

Come on folks - why pick on something that the unfortunate receptionist said?

From the rest of her statement, I think that she did a good job!

[KarstenBoAndersen]

Had they learned anyrhing from Ambassador hotel ??

Fire starting at several points at the same time !

Look like the hotel was not making profir enough !

[Melyn]

The good news is that they managed to evacuate all the guests and the bad news was losing one of he staff

I haven't seen any statements yet about functioning sprinkler systems.

[webfact]

Fire-damaged hotel sealed off; five injured remain in hospital

By English News

BANGKOK, Jan 28 – Bangkok safety officials will thoroughly inspect the shell of the fire-gutted Grand Tower Inn Hotel which burned Saturday night in the west side olf the capital on which one person died and 11 others were injured.

Acharavadee Chaisuvirat, Khlong San district chief, said public works officials were evaluating the cost of the damage while an engineer’s preliminary report indicated that the one-hour fire would not have a negative impact on the structure of the eight-storey building.

She said parts of the building have been sealed off while firefighters said the first floor and the restaurant on the second floor were the most damaged areas.

Among the 11 injured guests at the hotel, six were discharged from hospital. Five still hospitalised guests include three Chinese, a Japanese and a Korean. Three remain in the intensive care unit.

Police said the fire broke out at almost the same time in four locations on the first, second, sixth and seventh floors and the cause of the first has yet to be determined.

A hotel executive said the only victim, Pongsakorn Boon-aram, 44, was a hotel employee. He was found dead in a toilet on the third floor. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2013-01-28

[davejones]

"I think we will have to check footage from security cameras," he said.

Now this is an only in Thailand brainstorm.

Yet another deadly fire....."I think we will have to check footage from security cameras," he said......What a good idea!!

Come on folks - why pick on something that the unfortunate receptionist said?

From the rest of her statement, I think that she did a good job!

Agree. What else is she supposed to say? This is something investigators say in all countries.

[davejones]

Had they learned anyrhing from Ambassador hotel ??

Fire starting at several points at the same time !

Look like the hotel was not making profir enough !

From the article it seems to have started in one place and then spread to other places. Nowhere does it say it started at several points. Sounds like the fire spread up the building from the first floor storage cupboard, and then ignited the bedsheet trolleys that were probably stored at the same end of the building.

One day someone like you will get locked up for making such unfounded comments.

[raro]

Jeez....I lived at that place some 10 years ago...

[EyesWideOpen]

Not sure he should be locked up for reading the article.....

Hotel staff reported that the first fire alarm went off on the seventh floor and responded immediately. They saw a cart stacked with bed sheets on fire. But soon they came across more bed-sheet trolleys on fire on the fifth and sixth floors.

Wait, can fire go down??

[geriatrickid]

Yet another deadly fire....."I think we will have to check footage from security cameras," he said......What a good idea!!

I don't suppose you noticed that the guests managed to evacuate.. One doesn't know if those that suffered smoke inhalation did so because they did not respond to the fire alarms. Perhaps instead of looking for the negative, you might note that fire alarms and smoke detectors work.

BTW, do you have operating smoke detectors in your home?

[sprq]

"Charoen Nakhon Soi 14/2 in Klong San district", says the first report, "west side of the capital", says another.

Why do local newspaper reports habitually name locations in ways that don't help most readers? I've just had to Google this and take two or three minutes to find out that it's near Sathorn Bridge on the east (Bangkok) side. A bright journalist would have stated that in the report.

[Docno]

definately sounds like arson.

Ya think? I was suspecting spontaneously combusting hotel cleaning carts...

[Docno]

Not sure he should be locked up for reading the article.....

Hotel staff reported that the first fire alarm went off on the seventh floor and responded immediately. They saw a cart stacked with bed sheets on fire. But soon they came across more bed-sheet trolleys on fire on the fifth and sixth floors.

Wait, can fire go down??

No, but someone lighting them on fire would start at the top and go down if he/she had any brains....

[Dante99]

Not sure he should be locked up for reading the article.....

Hotel staff reported that the first fire alarm went off on the seventh floor and responded immediately. They saw a cart stacked with bed sheets on fire. But soon they came across more bed-sheet trolleys on fire on the fifth and sixth floors.

Wait, can fire go down??

it is about the sequence they discovered the fires which is not necessary the sequence in which the fires started

[diddums]

Not sure he should be locked up for reading the article.....

Hotel staff reported that the first fire alarm went off on the seventh floor and responded immediately. They saw a cart stacked with bed sheets on fire. But soon they came across more bed-sheet trolleys on fire on the fifth and sixth floors.

Wait, can fire go down??

Of course....upstairs floor caves in....repeat

Edited January 28, 2013 by diddums

[DGS1244]

Had they learned anyrhing from Ambassador hotel ??

Fire starting at several points at the same time !

Look like the hotel was not making profir enough !

From the article it seems to have started in one place and then spread to other places. Nowhere does it say it started at several points. Sounds like the fire spread up the building from the first floor storage cupboard, and then ignited the bedsheet trolleys that were probably stored at the same end of the building.

One day someone like you will get locked up for making such unfounded comments.

Sounds like another dumb statement, 99% says arson. Suggest you learn a lot more about 'fire' before opening mouth or using pen

[EyesWideOpen]

Not sure he should be locked up for reading the article.....

Hotel staff reported that the first fire alarm went off on the seventh floor and responded immediately. They saw a cart stacked with bed sheets on fire. But soon they came across more bed-sheet trolleys on fire on the fifth and sixth floors.

Wait, can fire go down??

Of course....upstairs floor caves in....repeat

Nope. Concrete structure which is still sound according to the police....Looks like Chinese lightning to me, but I do like the

spontaneous combustion linen cart theory. I am impressed by the fire alarm system working however. I wonder if there was a sprinkler system in place as well.

Edited January 28, 2013 by EyesWideOpen

[jacko45k]

Perhaps the owners would like to reconsider the offer now.........

[HerbalEd]

A female guest who had booked that room left her key card at the counter before going out at around 11pm on Saturday.

I thought the very purpose of having key cards is that guests don't have to leave them at the front desk when going out.

No ... the purpose is that cards can easily be reset for security purposes. It's virtually instant and cost free, and no need to have a locksmith install a new lock and key.

[samjaidee]

Had they learned anyrhing from Ambassador hotel ??

Fire starting at several points at the same time !

Look like the hotel was not making profir enough !

From the article it seems to have started in one place and then spread to other places. Nowhere does it say it started at several points. Sounds like the fire spread up the building from the first floor storage cupboard, and then ignited the bedsheet trolleys that were probably stored at the same end of the building.

One day someone like you will get locked up for making such unfounded comments.

I see your point but this quote from the article suggests that the trolleys were alight but not their surroundings.

"Hotel staff reported that the first fire alarm went off on the seventh floor and responded immediately. They saw a cart stacked with bed sheets on fire. But soon they came across more bed-sheet trolleys on fire on the fifth and sixth floors."

If the fire apparently started in a store cupboard on the first floor then why is it that the first fire alarm to go off was on the seventh floor? It sounds suspiciously like arson to me.

[HerbalEd]

Had they learned anyrhing from Ambassador hotel ??

Fire starting at several points at the same time !

Look like the hotel was not making profir enough !

From the article it seems to have started in one place and then spread to other places. Nowhere does it say it started at several points. Sounds like the fire spread up the building from the first floor storage cupboard, and then ignited the bedsheet trolleys that were probably stored at the same end of the building.

One day someone like you will get locked up for making such unfounded comments.

Sounds like another dumb statement, 99% says arson. Suggest you learn a lot more about 'fire' before opening mouth or using pen

Suggest you learn some decent manners before doing same.

[Tanlic]

It seems that arson looks favorite here.....Seems the fire spread very quickly through the first, second, sixth and seventh floors but the guy was found dead on the 3rd floor

He may well have started the fire just in one place if it was him

As far as can fire spread down? What kind of daft question is that?

While concrete does not allow radiation of heat/fire it alone doesn't make up the complete structure of a typical hotel. The bug in the system is the air con and one fire gets in there it can go up down sideways you name it. There are no fire alarms of sprinklers inside ducts and every room has them.....so instead of getting air the chances are you get smoke quickly followed by flames. Once the fire gets into the venting system it can breakout anywhere in the building.

[Mudcrab]

A female guest who had booked that room left her key card at the counter before going out at around 11pm on Saturday.

I thought the very purpose of having key cards is that guests don't have to leave them at the front desk when going out.

No ... the purpose is that cards can easily be reset for security purposes. It's virtually instant and cost free, and no need to have a locksmith install a new lock and key.

"It was locked from the inside."

So she locked the door, climbed out the window.....climbed down the building....and then went into the lobby and handed in her key card?????

Edited January 28, 2013 by Mudcrab

[Mudcrab]

Had they learned anyrhing from Ambassador hotel ??

Fire starting at several points at the same time !

Look like the hotel was not making profir enough !

From the article it seems to have started in one place and then spread to other places. Nowhere does it say it started at several points. Sounds like the fire spread up the building from the first floor storage cupboard, and then ignited the bedsheet trolleys that were probably stored at the same end of the building.

One day someone like you will get locked up for making such unfounded comments.

I see your point but this quote from the article suggests that the trolleys were alight but not their surroundings.

"Hotel staff reported that the first fire alarm went off on the seventh floor and responded immediately. They saw a cart stacked with bed sheets on fire. But soon they came across more bed-sheet trolleys on fire on the fifth and sixth floors."

If the fire apparently started in a store cupboard on the first floor then why is it that the first fire alarm to go off was on the seventh floor? It sounds suspiciously like arson to me.

makes you wonder why they didn't extinguish the linen on the trolleys.....might have saved a whole lot of damage

[EyesWideOpen]

It seems that arson looks favorite here.....Seems the fire spread very quickly through the first, second, sixth and seventh floors but the guy was found dead on the 3rd floor

He may well have started the fire just in one place if it was him

As far as can fire spread down? What kind of daft question is that?

While concrete does not allow radiation of heat/fire it alone doesn't make up the complete structure of a typical hotel. The bug in the system is the air con and one fire gets in there it can go up down sideways you name it. There are no fire alarms of sprinklers inside ducts and every room has them.....so instead of getting air the chances are you get smoke quickly followed by flames. Once the fire gets into the venting system it can breakout anywhere in the building.

Well let's do a quick daftness check regarding the general direction a fire takes........ If I was in a hotel staying on the 6th floor, and there was a fire on the 4th floor, I would have a hell of a lot more to worry about than a guy staying on the 2nd floor.

But you are correct about one thing, most fire deaths are from smoke inhalation. And yes smoke can certainly travel in the ducting system as well as stairwells, moving up as well as down.

Edited January 28, 2013 by EyesWideOpen