Massive Fire at Route 999 in Pattaya

[dvk1951]

Anyone having an in with the news venues might want to ask them why they report the death count as 8 when the Thai's say it is common knowledge that 15 died. Also it is said that the owner has slipped away to India.

Yes I understand the machinations of the rumor mill, but this one is spreeding faster than the fire that snuffed out all of these innocent victims. I can only hope that it is just a rumor.

My sincere condolences to their families.

[Digger]

so reading Pattaya City News update:-

"We spoke with Khun Niran, the Mayor of Pattaya who informed us that an immediate check on every late night entertainment venue is now taking place around the Pattaya area. Adequate fire safety procedures and fire exits must be in place, otherwise the venue will be told to close until the improvements are made." PCN

Somehow I will believe it only when I see it first hand.

[custard]

Would be a major disaster if Route 66 is caught with such a blaze given the amount of people let in. Why is it so difficult to introduce door policy ?

[linglop]

It beggars belief that Pattaya City Hall continues to fail to ensure hotels and places of entertainment in Pattaya have adequate arrangements in case of fire. One would have thought that following the tragic fire at an hotel in Jomtien some years ago, where no less than 99 people died (16 of whom were found dead in an elevator), a proper and sustained effort over fire arrangments would have been made. The lack of effort comes as no surprise given the dreadful state of the infrastructure in Pattaya. Its a malaise. That hotel had no sprinkler system, no emergency lighting and probably locked fire exits, the latter based on the feeble excuse that some customers use the exit in order not the pay the hotel bill.

The fire hit the international news and did untold damage to Pattaya's tourist industry.

Just watch action being taken against the welder, who allegedly caused the fire according to reports in today's media, but no action being taken against the owner of Route 999 Disco or anyone in City Hall who provided the entertainment license.

The mayor's totally inadequate response today has said to have been to allow owners of entertainment places time to ensure fire arrangements of their premises adequate. If the premises are not adequate NOW, they should immediately be closed and only reopened following inspection and certification. java script:emoticon(':(', 'smid_2')java script:emoticon(':(', 'smid_2')

[Maejo Man]

"We spoke with Khun Niran, the Mayor of Pattaya who informed us that an immediate check on every late night entertainment venue is now taking place around the Pattaya area. Adequate fire safety procedures and fire exits must be in place, otherwise the venue will be told to close until the improvements are made." PCN

Somehow I will believe it only when I see it first hand.

Maybe it will, we can only hope....'Careless welder' caused fatal Pattaya fire

PATTAYA - An official investigation found that carelessness was the cause of a fire raging a famous pub in Pattaya, Thailand's eastern resort city, Sunday night, killing 8 people and injuring more than 50 others, a senior police officer said here on Monday.

"The fire was found to have caused by a welder who was welding a broken part of an air conditioner on the roof of the pub, with sparks dropping on a carpet igniting the blaze," Pol. Lt. Gen. Jongrak Jutanont, Commissioner of the Provincial Police Region 2, told journalists.

"The pub was also found to have no fire exit and the back door locked," he added.

Witnesses said the fire broke out at around 09:30 p.m. from a DJ booth and quickly spread to other parts of the entertainment venue in the nothern Pattaya area.

All those who die in the blaze--five men and three women--are employees of the pub, including the welder; while some tourists are among those injured who were rushed to hospitals.

The number of those injured has risen to 54 so far.

Fire fighters put the blaze under control within two hours.

Damage to the fire was initially estimated at around Bt70 million.

Meanwhile, Pattaya Mayor Niran Wathanasartsathorn said that local welfare officials were providing assistance to all the fire victims and their families, and that the authorities concerned would inspect safety measures of other entertainment venues in Pattaya and would order the closure of those found to have sub-standardized safety measures if they fail to improve their safety systems to the required standard within a certain period of time. (TNA)

[britmaveric]

Sad thing is this will happen again. Anyone look at how safe Lucifer's is to get out of when the place is packed?

Rest in peace those that died hope owners are punished for this mess.

[Kaojai]

Here ? Mai Pen Rai. Until something happens, or someone important is affected.

Yes, nothing like this would ever happen in North America or Europe. What are you people smoking?

The Station nightclub fire on February 20, 2003 was the fourth deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. history, killing 100 people and injuring more than 200. Ninety-six perished on the night of the fire, and four died later from their injuries at local hospitals. The Station was a nightclub in West Warwick in Kent County in the state of Rhode Island.

2001, January 1st. Netherlands, near Amsterdam, town of Volendam: Fire in a Dance Hall; ten people are dead and about 130 injured after fire swept through a cafe packed with teenagers. Many of the injured were hurt as they trampled each other, smashed windows and leapt from the third-floor premises to escape flames and smoke. Several other youngsters suffered severe burns or smoke inhalations, and about 20 of these victims had to be taken to special burn units in Belgium and Germany.

The fire started shortly after midnight as about 700 people were heralding the new year at the bar/cafe complex "Het Hemeltje" (Little Heaven) inside a row of old wooden houses in Volendam, a picturesque fishing village with 18,000 residents about 20 kilometres (13 miles) northeast of Amsterdam.

Fire sparks nightclub evacuation 22 Oct, 04 by Mik

A South Yorkshire nightclub had to be evacuated when fire broke out on the roof.

Partygoers had been letting off fireworks on the roof of the Trilogy club, Doncaster, in the early hours of Friday when the incident started.

The fire on Silver Street was under control in two hours, fire officials said.

The £3m club, run by a firm that operates four others in Yorkshire, opened just over a year ago.

[george]

Update:

Eight staff burn to death in pub blaze

PATTAYA: -- Police are certain careless work by an air-conditioning mechanic caused a blaze at a popular pub in Pattaya which killed eight staff on Sunday.

Officers are inspecting whether the building was modified to meet safety standards and whether any fire exits were provided.

Route 999, right in the heart of Pattaya, caught fire on Sunday night while more than 100 staff were having a meeting before opening for business.

The fire killed five dancers and three male staff including the air-conditioner mechanic, Kamnung Phaolek, and injured 57 others.

Nutcharin Wongyam, 25, said 80 dancers called coyote girls who dressed in the style of dancers from a movie of the same name, were in the pub at the time.

She said she was in the dressing room and heard the sound of an explosion in the ceiling. A fire broke out and spread rapidly. Many staff escaped through the front gate but some were trapped inside.

Some of them were helped out by rescuers who broke through a wall but others choked on the smoke and lost consciousness. Fire fighters took about an hour to control the fire.

Police officers led by Police Region 2 Commissioner Lt-General Jongrak Juthanon, yesterday inspected the scene with civic officials and continued to search for more bodies, but no more have been found.

The police estimated the damage at about Bt20 million.

Jong-rak said from initial investigation, the pub's mechanic, Kamnung, who was fixing air-conditioners, had accidentally fallen, causing a gas tank in the ceiling to ignite and explode.

Route 999 is a 12-metre-high building on three rai of land.

It was modified last December at a cost of about Bt50 million. The pub had become popular with both Thais and foreigners and received around 300-500 visitors a day.

Pattaya mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn said the building was declared a hazard as it had been feared it might collapse.

He said before the pub was opened, the building was found to have been illegally modified.

Officials had ordered work on it to stop and revised plans submitted, but the pub owner ignored their orders.

"We are checking to see whether the pub had provided standard emergency exits," Nirun said.

Officials said most pubs in Pattaya only had an entrance and no fire escape.

In this case, most of the deaths involved new staff who were unfamiliar with the building so they failed to find the right escape routes. Officers will inspect the building and consider whether it needed to be demolished.

Nirun said he would order an inspection of other entertainment spots to prevent further incidents and take legal action against any pub flouting the law.

--The Nation 2006-05-09

[Canadianvisitor]

Never Lock A Fire Door!

[dvk1951]

Here ? Mai Pen Rai. Until something happens, or someone important is affected.

Yes, nothing like this would ever happen in North America or Europe. What are you people smoking?

Perhaps you are missing the point Kaojai, what we desire is to see systems in place to limit tragedies such as Route 999. We all know accidents happen, what we seek is a conscious effort by those in power to do all that can be done to keep such incidents to a minimum. We wish to protect ourselves and the lives of our children.

A proper 'inspection' infrastructure during design, construction, the performing of periodic compliance inspections and the ease with which these requirements can be 'by passed' is what we would like to see changed.

Numerous references to other entertainment venues which are 'accidents waiting to happen' can be found throughout this thread. It is a matter of 'action towards prevention' and not 'reaction to tragedy' that we seek.

[kurgen]

The fact that this place is only a few months old but was allowed to open without any fire exits just about sums up Pattaya City Councils level of negligence.

The icing on the cake will be that none of the owners of the club ,nor anyone from the council will be held responsible.

The poor old welder will be the scapegoat here,you wait and see

[cdnvic]

Update:

Eight staff burn to death in pub blaze

PATTAYA: -- Police are certain careless work by an air-conditioning mechanic caused a blaze at a popular pub in Pattaya which killed eight staff on Sunday.

A careless mechanic can cause a fire that destroys a building, but it's unfathomable that he could be responsible for those deaths and its unfair to put them on his head. Unless the building was made of balsawood there's nothing a welder should be able to do that would kill eight people in a building with proper fire exits.

cv

[barryofthailand]

The fact that this place is only a few months old but was allowed to open without any fire exits just about sums up Pattaya City Councils level of negligence.

The icing on the cake will be that none of the owners of the club ,nor anyone from the council will be held responsible.

The poor old welder will be the scapegoat here,you wait and see

The poor airconditioning repair man is dead. The liability lies with the owners, and managers who new about the repair being made in total darkness wich probably led to the accident, and with the city councelors who over sea the lisencing of entertainment venues. This has hapenned before and unfortunately will probably happen again in Pattaya.

Barry

[Chopper]

Update:

Eight staff burn to death in pub blaze

PATTAYA: -- Police are certain careless work by an air-conditioning mechanic caused a blaze at a popular pub in Pattaya which killed eight staff on Sunday.

A careless mechanic can cause a fire that destroys a building, but it's unfathomable that he could be responsible for those deaths and its unfair to put them on his head. Unless the building was made of balsawood there's nothing a welder should be able to do that would kill eight people in a building with proper fire exits.

cv

I suppose it is fathomable to the extent that if the poor Welder was alive today he would no doubt not have Public Liability Insurance (hopefully) indemnifying him against such accidents unless it was gross negligence. Therefore, perhaps the blame would be assigned to him on that basis as the owners never want to seem to take responsibility.

It was at least gratifying to read earlier in the thread that they did not have Insurance.

Though that brings to the fore the tragedy in Jomtien nine years ago wasn't someone in the kitchen who would not need any form of Public Liability Insurance held in part too blame for starting that fire?

Another avoidable tragedy. RIP those that did not make it out alive.

[Mobi]

The fact that this place is only a few months old but was allowed to open without any fire exits just about sums up Pattaya City Councils level of negligence.

The icing on the cake will be that none of the owners of the club ,nor anyone from the council will be held responsible.

The poor old welder will be the scapegoat here,you wait and see

The poor airconditioning repair man is dead. The liability lies with the owners, and managers who new about the repair being made in total darkness wich probably led to the accident, and with the city councelors who over sea the lisencing of entertainment venues. This has hapenned before and unfortunately will probably happen again in Pattaya.

Barry

I don't usually cut 'n' paste, but here's an update from today's Bangkok Post:

Nightspot defied closure order

Two "coyote girls" at Route 999 Pattaya found their lockers almost empty and all their valuables missing after the blaze at the disco on Sunday

Pattaya _ The Route 999 entertainment complex destroyed by fire on Sunday night had been illegally modified and used in defiance of a ban, city officials said yesterday.

Pattaya Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn said the city had banned use of the building, initially constructed as a restaurant, in December.

Authorities had warned the complex's owner to obey the order, but nothing else had been done. The owner and manager has been identified as Wicha Baopimpa.

After the Sunday night blaze which killed eight people and injured 57 others, several seriously, the mayor promised strict structural and fire inspections of all entertainment venues and buildings.

City Hall yesterday declared Route 999 off limits after an initial inspection determined the building was on the verge of collapse and was a danger to the public.

Officials said the building structure's will again be inspected and a decision made whether to order demolition.

Police believe an electrician's carelessness was the cause of the fire which caused an estimated 70 million baht damage.

Police said electrician Khanueng Phaolek, 29, had used welding equipment to repair air-conditioning units and sparks set a carpet on fire which quickly spread. Mr Khanueng's charred body was found at the scene amid the debris.

Meanwhile, Potjanee Thanavaranit, chief of the Insurance Department, said Route 999 was not insured under the fire insurance law that took effect on Feb 19. The law requires fire insurance of at least 100,000 baht on all public buildings.

Ms Potjanee said the provincial insurance office told her Route 999's owner had contacted Viriya Insurance Co for fire coverage, but no contract had been yet signed.

Bangkok Post

What a joke! 100,000 baht insurance for a public building.

That's 1,400 pounds or 2,500 dollars.

Unclear what sort of insurance this is supposed to be - to pay for re-building or to compensate victims? (or both?). Whatever it is, its ridiculously inadequate - even in Thailand.

[Chopper]

The poor airconditioning repair man is dead. The liability lies with the owners, and managers who new about the repair being made in total darkness wich probably led to the accident, and with the city councelors who over sea the lisencing of entertainment venues. This has hapenned before and unfortunately will probably happen again in Pattaya.

Barry

I agree with you one hundered percent. I just somehow suspect they will not be held accountable.

[Patex]

As I have heard, the most victims were on their first workday and not familar with the place .

...The law requires fire insurance of at least 100,000 baht on all public buildings...

What about the TV- members who are running public places, for example, the Blues Factory? Are you insured?

[donkeykong]

So much for slackass Mr. Mayor

All talk, no action...

Tonight deathtrap #1 is open for business yet again

Lucifers Disco

and for that matter.. Polo

Paying off the cops and the council is as cheap as ever...

Khun Niran ... Samong Goong

[davethailand]

As I have heard, the most victims were on their first workday and not familar with the place .

...The law requires fire insurance of at least 100,000 baht on all public buildings...

What about the TV- members who are running public places, for example, the Blues Factory? Are you insured?

A question for my lawyer.

I was required to ensure we had a fire exit and extinguishers over a year ago because of an inspection.

[Chopper]

As I have heard, the most victims were on their first workday and not familar with the place .

...The law requires fire insurance of at least 100,000 baht on all public buildings...

What about the TV- members who are running public places, for example, the Blues Factory? Are you insured?

A question for my lawyer.

I was required to ensure we had a fire exit and extinguishers over a year ago because of an inspection.

Dave, no offence intended, but how can you manage a business and not know the answer to this...?

Suppose your cleaner leaves the toilet floor wet and an employee of yours walks in to the toilet slips over and breaks their neck (God forbid). Such a simple scenario would leave a business owner open for a massive lawsuit. Just what Insurance is there for.

I know running a business in Thailand is somewhat different, but in the given scenario if you find that you do not have the appropriate cover, would you pay the hospital fees of the employee and ongoing costs medical costs? I am assuming you do nor run a Health Coverage scheme for your employees?

As stated above not a dig at you but I am genuinely interested.

[Kerryd]

and for that matter.. Polo

Actually, I asked Mama #1 at Polo and a "certain" someone I know there about the situation in Polo.

There is a fire escape in the back of the changing room, from which you can either climb to the roof, or jump in the ocean

Maybe that's why I always sit next to the entrance to the changing room ?

But you are right, it would be a death-trap if a fire broke out in the area of the DJ booth/front entrance (or in one of the clubs underneath Polo for that matter).

In Lucifers, I think your best bet would be to try and bash through a wall into a neighbouring business or the ocean, rather than try to squeeze through the stampede headed for the lone entrance.

Problem with many of those businesses is, there's no way to fix the problem without tearing them down and starting over. A place like X-Zyte could be fixed by installing some extra fire-doors (same could have been done at Route 999, if there had of been any building/fire codes and enforcement).

Apartment buildings and condo complexes ? If you are above the 7th floor (I think it's the 7th) and trapped by a fire, forget it. Most fire department ladder trucks can't reach higher than the 7th floor. You're better off with a base-jumper style parachute.

This tragedy won't result in any real changes being made unfortunately. Just as that major fire in Jomtien had no real effect. That should have caused a major shake-up in the way things work, but obviously didn't. Many venues/buildings have been built since then, including Route 999, with little or no thought towards fire safety.

I think the only thing we can count on sadly, is that something like this is bound to happen again.

[kurgen]

I wouldn't fancy jumping from polo, that would be a jump of about 50 feet into 2 feet of water.

If the jump didn't kill you the 2 feet of sewage would finish you off

[barryofthailand]

It's a tragedy that the city government in Pattaya does not take immediate steps to correct the problems with the nightclubs. Another year will go by, and probably nothing done. Remember this tragedy, and in one to two years if not sooner unfortunately this will happen again. How many will die next time?

Barry

[cdnvic]

<deleted> kind of carpet ignites and spreads a fire intense enough to engulf a whole building in such a short time? The story being given should not add up to all these deaths.

cv

[Chopper]

Barry, just look at the previous two years; fires at:

Hollywood Disco

SuperGirls GoGo

Big C (inside Cinema if my memory serves me correctly)

Route 999

...These are ones I remember off the top of my head. I am sure there are more others can add to this sorry list.

[davethailand]

As I have heard, the most victims were on their first workday and not familar with the place .

...The law requires fire insurance of at least 100,000 baht on all public buildings...

What about the TV- members who are running public places, for example, the Blues Factory? Are you insured?

A question for my lawyer.

I was required to ensure we had a fire exit and extinguishers over a year ago because of an inspection.

Dave, no offence intended, but how can you manage a business and not know the answer to this...?

Suppose your cleaner leaves the toilet floor wet and an employee of yours walks in to the toilet slips over and breaks their neck (God forbid). Such a simple scenario would leave a business owner open for a massive lawsuit. Just what Insurance is there for.

All my staff have free healthcare provided my me through their social insurance payments.

I know running a business in Thailand is somewhat different, but in the given scenario if you find that you do not have the appropriate cover, would you pay the hospital fees of the employee and ongoing costs medical costs? I am assuming you do nor run a Health Coverage scheme for your employees?

As said all staff are covered, i 've never thought about any other kind of insurance as there has never been requirements for it

As stated above not a dig at you but I am genuinely interested.

Edited May 10, 2006 by davethailand

[davethailand]

It's a tragedy that the city government in Pattaya does not take immediate steps to correct the problems with the nightclubs. Another year will go by, and probably nothing done. Remember this tragedy, and in one to two years if not sooner unfortunately this will happen again. How many will die next time?

Barry

I think you'll find that checks will now be made in all clubs and bars, some will be closed down i'm sure.

...The law requires fire insurance of at least 100,000 baht on all public buildings...

I've done some checking and have been told that there is no law or enforcement of an existing law that says this is so, maybe thats why i could'nt answer straight away.

Edited May 10, 2006 by davethailand

[kurgen]

More like money will change hands

[Digger]

Friend of mine had a house fire in Thailand - infact it was not that severe - basically for some reason his computer/scanner caught fire - however the danger came not from the fire itself but the Smoke - his dog died and the dog was found dead under the bed on the other side of the house. The smoke damage was incredible - everything, but everything in the whole house was black. The actual damage in the room where the fire started was minimal - just a curtain and all the computer equipment plus the desk it was on.

Often people think that there is little to burn in a house made of brick and concrete - but anything plastic lets of huge amounts of smoke, thats what killed the dog and having seen the house shortly afterwards, I was amazed at the damage that was caused. As I say, hardly anything physically burnt and the fire was confined to just one room.

Incidentally his GF found the fire not long after it started when she came back from shopping but he still had to replace everything in the house and he was not insured, so its hardly an insurance job to refurnish his house.

[donkeykong]

http://www.pattayapeople.com/archive/news1737-may2006.php

On May 9th at approximately 9.00pm, a major fire killed 9 people and injured 54 others in the well known and recently opened 999 Nite Spot in North Pattaya on 3rd Road.

___________________________________________________________

Pattaya People News - at the cutting edge of accurate journalism

Wrong date (by 2 days, mentioned twice). Incomplete/wrong club name.

___________________________________________________________

The article also says the fire doors were locked from the outside,

there was no fire alarm, no emergency lighting, no sprinklers,

no staff had been told what to do in the event of a fire.

Why wasn't the club owner immediately arrested (at least) and charged with manslaughter?

Why haven't their other venues (and the other major venues) been immediately checked and/or closed? (it would take no more than 2 days to do them all)

How can anyone 'legally' operate as a commercial business here without some form of Public Liability Insurance, which includes fire insurance cover backed by an inspection from the Fire Department?

Is Thailand really still the corrupt wild west?