Tourists escape unhurt but bus engulfed in flames

[RichinThailand]

No matter the condition of the bus...If you can not get a piece of fire fighting equipment for one hour on a main traveled road, then you might just as well not have the fire equipment at all. Even a rural area should be able to maintain a 20 to 30 minute response time!!

[mango66]

Did you realice ??

The driver didn't flee the scene ??

very new and strange for Thailand,

maybee they fear the army now ?? to catch them ??

[carter1882]

Dear realenglish1 (sic),

Obviously ranged is wrong in the post. However, your assertion that there is no such word as ranged is incorrect; it is the past tense of range. By the way, if you are worrying about sic, I haven' t misspelt it.

[monkey4u]

" He ranged the police for help" . Ranged ? where on earth did this journalist learn his english RUNG as in past tense and there is no such word as RANGED unless you are 3 and making a call to Santa Clause

I Ranged up Santa but he was much busy with the elves and will can't come to the phone.

This reporter was busy ranging to book an Inglesh corse

[MJP]

Maybe it was one these death trap localy made buses. The one that are too high, too narrow. And built cheaply. The godmother from Isan, is well protected!

I saw a documentary on these things a while back. They're made of bits of plywood!

[phil2407]

After no driver at first Fire station (what's the point of having fire trucks if no driver?? - in Thailand they drive with or without licence so should be investigated) - 2nd fire staition called - 10 km away but took an hour for fire truck to reach them? That's 10kmph - not very good for an emergency vehicle - especially as a lot of Thais drive like maniacs! Respect to the bus driver for getting everyone off the bus safely and trying to put out the fire himself

[georgey]

" He ranged the police for help" . Ranged ? where on earth did this journalist learn his english RUNG as in past tense and there is no such word as RANGED unless you are 3 and making a call to Santa Clause

I Ranged up Santa but he was much busy with the elves and will can't come to the phone.

"realenglish1".....really

RUNG in capitals....."rang" is also a possibility surely?

I pretty much gave up commenting on the use of English on TV a long time ago, because it is typically so abysmal that you have to assume that most hail from countries where English is seldom if ever used. So to criticise would be unfair (unless, of course, you call yourself "real English").

However, a clause could probably be described as part of a sentence; it's not the way Santa spells his surname.

[torpedo1970]

The police then called the nearest firefighting station at Kron local administration office for help but was told that there was no driver.

TIT

[KamalaRider]

Good nobody died.

The police then called the nearest firefighting station at Kron local administration office for help but was told that there was no driver.

No driver, No good.

....before the first fire truck would arrive an hour later, the entire bus along with luggage of the tourists were all burnt out in flames.

One hour later, no good too.

When was the braking system of the bus last serviced?

Serviced??

[KamalaRider]

" He ranged the police for help" . Ranged ? where on earth did this journalist learn his english RUNG as in past tense and there is no such word as RANGED unless you are 3 and making a call to Santa Clause

I Ranged up Santa but he was much busy with the elves and will can't come to the phone.

"realenglish1".....really

RUNG in capitals....."rang" is also a possibility surely?

I pretty much gave up commenting on the use of English on TV a long time ago, because it is typically so abysmal that you have to assume that most hail from countries where English is seldom if ever used. So to criticise would be unfair (unless, of course, you call yourself "real English").

However, a clause could probably be described as part of a sentence; it's not the way Santa spells his surname.

No Santa spells his name as Tomten, the real name for him as he's from Sweden.

Nice catch with realenglish English

[chilidog]

I see no one here mentioned that on all heavy vehicles they have air brakes not hydraulics.

[KamalaRider]

After no driver at first Fire station (what's the point of having fire trucks if no driver?? - in Thailand they drive with or without licence so should be investigated) - 2nd fire staition called - 10 km away but took an hour for fire truck to reach them? That's 10kmph - not very good for an emergency vehicle - especially as a lot of Thais drive like maniacs! Respect to the bus driver for getting everyone off the bus safely and trying to put out the fire himself

Hey, try to push the water wagon faster yourself.

[jerojero]

No matter the condition of the bus...If you can not get a piece of fire fighting equipment for one hour on a main traveled road, then you might just as well not have the fire equipment at all. Even a rural area should be able to maintain a 20 to 30 minute response time!!

TIT. There are no response times, no standards, no service requirements. Govt too busy worried about Tourist numbers, breast selfies, and how to get rich at the payer expense.

[Bignose]

Whinge all you want the driver did the right thing and no one was hurt, at the end of the day a bus (no matter what it's worth) can be replaced.

The tourists who lost their belongings will no doubt submit totally genuine (but expensive) insurance claims.

All over the world there are bus fires, this is not unique to Thailand.

While I am not that familiar with the area I assume it is fairly remote or rural, once you move away from the populated centers the services will not necessarily be five minutes away. That is a fact of living in Thailand and no one, no matter what their political pedigree or orientation, can do anything about it.

No one hurt and all safe, good job by the driver...

[cookee68]

well done to the driver, but nothing new with the shit buses they have in operation

[Johpa]

Good job by the driver! Once he noticed a problem he brought the bus to the side of the road and evacuated the passengers. You can, although not commonly, already have over-heating of the brakes, smoke, and yes, even a fire, from a rear brake malfunction before the driver notices something amiss. The playing of loud volume from the video system can be a safety concern when the driver can not hear potential problems. The primary issue is of course the generic bugaboo in Thailand, maintenance. Something was amiss in the brake system. And the main front passenger load door(s) should have a working latch to disengage the door from the mechanical opening system and allow it to swing open freely, a required step in the driver pre-trip inspection, at least here in the US. But again kudos to the driver for pulling off to the side of the road and safely evacuating all the passengers. I hope none of the passengers had their passports inside their stored luggage.

[TerrylSky]

Kudos to the bus driver who seemed to act swiftly and prudently in a moment of acute pressure focusing on the passenger's safety - unlike other bus drivers in the past who flee into the jungle. Glad there were no injuries or worse.

Edited March 19, 2015 by TerrylSky

[Thongkorn]

Brakes locked? Check to see if brake pads have worn down to metal. If so, the pads would not retract from the drums.

The bearings on the axle could have Broken up, Causing the seal to melt, letting the oil run out from the half shaft of the axle, which in turn puts the brakes on, the oil hits the hot brake pads and you have a fire. , all caused by bad driving or poor maintenance.

Edited March 19, 2015 by Thongkorn

[stoli]

Brakes locked? Check to see if brake pads have worn down to metal. If so, the pads would not retract from the drums.

Of course they would still retract. Obviously you have never been a brake mechanic, so it would be wise not to offer your expertise on this subject.

[CapeThai]

Electrical system failure due to short circuit = One nasty fire outbrake and safety system shutdown

If the Thai automotive electricians have the same work ethnic as the Thais responsible for the spaghetti power lines along the roads then I rest my case.

Just a thought...

Edited March 19, 2015 by CapeThai

[CapeThai]

Kudos to the bus driver who seemed to act swiftly and prudently in a moment of acute pressure focusing on the passenger's safety - unlike other bus drivers in the past who flee into the jungle. Glad there were no injuries or worse.

Yeah...luckily this one was sopher enough to think of the passengers first...???

[kannot]

Whinge all you want the driver did the right thing and no one was hurt, at the end of the day a bus (no matter what it's worth) can be replaced.

The tourists who lost their belongings will no doubt submit totally genuine (but expensive) insurance claims.

All over the world there are bus fires, this is not unique to Thailand.

While I am not that familiar with the area I assume it is fairly remote or rural, once you move away from the populated centers the services will not necessarily be five minutes away. That is a fact of living in Thailand and no one, no matter what their political pedigree or orientation, can do anything about it.

No one hurt and all safe, good job by the driver...

and of course they happen as often as in Thailand dont they?

[louse1953]

the tourists can bitch about the situation, but at least nodoby died

The tourists are just not used to the incompetence they find in Thailand ....

Where was the incompetence,bus driver got everybody off,tried to put out the fire and rang for help.Everything else is pure speculation on your part.

[Moonlover]

These very tall futuristic buses with actions figures painted all over them, and bass speakers that can shake the ground, are in fact made of wood. Only the chassis and engine are steel, wood and glass that just falls apart in a crash, and in a fire.......the picture speaks for itself.

The picture suggests to me that the framework is made of steel, not wood. I don't think there would be much left of it if it was wooden!

Edited March 20, 2015 by Moonlover

[minikev]

Brakes locked? Check to see if brake pads have worn down to metal. If so, the pads would not retract from the drums.

The bearings on the axle could have Broken up, Causing the seal to melt, letting the oil run out from the half shaft of the axle, which in turn puts the brakes on, the oil hits the hot brake pads and you have a fire. , all caused by bad driving or poor maintenance.

An online post mortem of the bus by expert online mechanics is definitely required here!

[beowolf2012]

Good nobody died.

The police then called the nearest firefighting station at Kron local administration office for help but was told that there was no driver.

No driver, No good.

....before the first fire truck would arrive an hour later, the entire bus along with luggage of the tourists were all burnt out in flames.

One hour later, no good too.

When was the braking system of the bus last serviced?

properly the brake never have bean check. every year all cars and bus motorbike and so on have to check the tire, but that not the brake

[jacko45k]

There was no driver available at the fire-station!

Oh great, that inspires confidence in them.

Will they be round in a taxi or do I have to go pick them up?

[Chao Lao Beach]

But as the bus arrived at Sawee district, electronic system of the bus had trouble, causing the hydraulic system of the power brake to fail.

The braking system was overheating, forcing him to drive the bus to park on the shoulder of the highway.

Idiot

[Rogergreybeard]

Kudos to the driver one of the good ones,i think he should be given a medal

[trogers]

Brakes locked? Check to see if brake pads have worn down to metal. If so, the pads would not retract from the drums.

Of course they would still retract. Obviously you have never been a brake mechanic, so it would be wise not to offer your expertise on this subject.

Not when the hydraulic hose was on fire. I am not a mechanic, but happened to me when I was a novice driver. Had to extinguish the fire with a wet rag.