webfact Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Huge fire at apartment building on Sathorn, one confirmed deadBANGKOK: -- A huge fire broke out at a 10-storey apartment building on Soi Narathiwat 18 on Sathorn road, trapping several people inside the blazing building.The fire was first spotted on the third floor and quickly spread to upper floors.Several fire engines arrived but faced difficulties in putting out the blaze which happened on high rise floors, and black smokes.Several occupants were seen waving for help out of their windows on upper floors.The fire happened at about 10.50 am and by 11.30 am it is still raging fiercely.Initial report said one people died and many were trapped.Police helicopters were called in to rescue as several people are now trapped on the deck.Rescue workers said the seventh floor of the building collapsed due to heat. Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/content/149673 -- Thai PBS 2016-02-05 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaywalker Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 WOW! Sad story for sure. There's usually an outside fire escape stairwell on both ends of buildings like this. Hope it wasn't blocked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geriatrickid Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Doesn't look like it had a functioning sprinkler system does it? Oh wait, how stupid of me. No need for a sprinkler system in Thailand's residential high rises, right? The intensity of the fire and the heavy black smoke suggest a significant amount of combustible materials with an emphasis on plastics and other petrochemical based items. I suppose that in a country where functional sprinkler systems, water pumps, , fire doors an and all that expensive life safety stuff isn't necessary, the need to consider an emphasis on fire resistive and retardant materials is unimportant. Amazing Thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samtam Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Still watching it @ 12 noon through binoculars from my condo on Sathorn Tai, and it's raging fiercely on the top floor. Looks as though the roof will collapse as the water jets are not able to reach the top. So very frightening and sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezzra Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Doesn't look like it had a functioning sprinkler system does it? Oh wait, how stupid of me. No need for a sprinkler system in Thailand's residential high rises, right? The intensity of the fire and the heavy black smoke suggest a significant amount of combustible materials with an emphasis on plastics and other petrochemical based items. I suppose that in a country where functional sprinkler systems, water pumps, , fire doors an and all that expensive life safety stuff isn't necessary, the need to consider an emphasis on fire resistive and retardant materials is unimportant. Amazing Thailand. You're wrong, this is a mandatory must to have a fire alarm system, fire water pumps, and sprinklers system in all high rise buildings for many years now, it could be that he system was not working due to the laziness and careless of the building's technical supervisors, it also mandatory to have one a year fire drill where all systems are checked and verified, god only knows what slack people has let all the above to laps and dysfunction..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
007cableguy Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Sadly Thai fire services would struggle with any building over 4 floors ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
realenglish1 Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Some really important reform needed here Hope all are ok from the FIre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minnehaha Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 what is the name of the building? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rws85 Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Wow this is horrible. Feel sorry for anyone involved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minnehaha Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 since when is 10 stories "high rise" ? I understand anything under 9 is low rise. so I guess you can say 10 is high rise, but it seems like a height fire trucks should be able to reach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kotsak Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Looks like the entrance to the building is on Thanon Chan, hardly on Sathorn which is almost 2Km away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steven100 Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 That looks very fierce .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elgordo38 Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Some really important reform needed here Hope all are ok from the FIre Sorry no have to many other serious things on their plate. Subs bullet trains boats new cop guns more soldiers single gateway Facebook/Google censorship raiding seniors playing contract bridge. Right after we solve the drought problem we will work on this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DGS1244 Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Know the building, no sprinkler system, built before regs changed, not that it makes a lot of difference regs that is. Poor means of escape as usual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bark Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Problem is that with Thai traffic in Bangkok, it can take a very long time to get to most fires. This means the fire has a good foot hold, already by the time the trucks get there. Hard problem to solve. Pray for small loss of life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 This reminds me of a fire at the condo where I was living several years ago. And this was a rather nice, modern condo. The fire started i another wing and by the time that I knew it, the hallway was filled with smoke. There was no alternative fire escape. I began stuffing wet towels under the front door, then more smoke. Retreated to the bedroom, which has a balcony, and then it started filling with smoke. I actually retreated to the balcony and began tying sheets together, although I was four floors above the pool landing. The "fire department" was there. They could see me shouting from the balcony. They could have easily donned smoke suits with respirators and gotten me out since there was no fire in that wing yet, but there was very dense, and probably fatal smoke in the hallways. But they had no smoke suits and their reply to me was: "Jai yen yen" Fortunately they eventually got the fire out and I waited for about an hour for the smoke to clear, left, and got a hotel room. Remember people: you are completely on your own if something like this happens. Think about that before you select a condo, and be prepared for the worst when you move it. I now live on the first floor of a low rise condo with three different doors for escape in case of fire. And unlike the prior condo which never sounded a fire alarm, we have functioning fire alarms and sprinklers and there is a fire drill twice each year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOTIRIOS Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 ...fire escapes are usually the exception it seems... ...don't know what the code is... ...if 'the 7th floor collapsed due to heat'.....doesn't that bring into question its construction....??? ...dreadful... ...I do not see how people can escape most of these concrete structures.... ...dreadful.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryAdriaenssens Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Still wonder why some people are eager to take a picture or whatever (as seen in the short video) of something tragic like that? Is it for her on-line collection or what? Just Unbelievable! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trogers Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Doesn't look like it had a functioning sprinkler system does it? Oh wait, how stupid of me. No need for a sprinkler system in Thailand's residential high rises, right? The intensity of the fire and the heavy black smoke suggest a significant amount of combustible materials with an emphasis on plastics and other petrochemical based items. I suppose that in a country where functional sprinkler systems, water pumps, , fire doors an and all that expensive life safety stuff isn't necessary, the need to consider an emphasis on fire resistive and retardant materials is unimportant. Amazing Thailand. Looking at those pitched roofs at the top of a 10-storey building, I would guess this building is built before the tomyumkung crisis era and the requirements for sprinklers do not apply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaullyW Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Still wonder why some people are eager to take a picture or whatever (as seen in the short video) of something tragic like that? Is it for her on-line collection or what? Just Unbelievable! I have to disagree. Especially in a country like Thailand, those pictures and videos going public are perhaps the very best means to force a shaming and to force change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaullyW Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Know the building, no sprinkler system, built before regs changed, not that it makes a lot of difference regs that is. Poor means of escape as usual.What is the building? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trogers Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 This reminds me of a fire at the condo where I was living several years ago. And this was a rather nice, modern condo. The fire started i another wing and by the time that I knew it, the hallway was filled with smoke. There was no alternative fire escape. I began stuffing wet towels under the front door, then more smoke. Retreated to the bedroom, which has a balcony, and then it started filling with smoke. I actually retreated to the balcony and began tying sheets together, although I was four floors above the pool landing. The "fire department" was there. They could see me shouting from the balcony. They could have easily donned smoke suits with respirators and gotten me out since there was no fire in that wing yet, but there was very dense, and probably fatal smoke in the hallways. But they had no smoke suits and their reply to me was: "Jai yen yen" Fortunately they eventually got the fire out and I waited for about an hour for the smoke to clear, left, and got a hotel room. Remember people: you are completely on your own if something like this happens. Think about that before you select a condo, and be prepared for the worst when you move it. I now live on the first floor of a low rise condo with three different doors for escape in case of fire. And unlike the prior condo which never sounded a fire alarm, we have functioning fire alarms and sprinklers and there is a fire drill twice each year. Smoke kills more than fire, and there are some recent highrise projects that advertised an internal air well system without realizing how much faster smoke would fill all the internal corridors making escape impossible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minnehaha Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Looks like the entrance to the building is on Thanon Chan, hardly on Sathorn which is almost 2Km away. Narathiwas soi 18 was the address mentioned... there are khet (districts) in bangkok. Sathorn is a khet or a kwang or both, I believe. it is also a street as you already know. look at a map and see how close naradiwas soi 18 is to chan. very close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webfact Posted February 5, 2016 Author Share Posted February 5, 2016 The fire at the Sathorn tower was kept under control at 12.30 pm today.BANGKOK: -- Police helicopter arrived but could just hover in circle above the building due to black smoke hampering its rescue effort.It was not immediately known how many occupants in the 10-storey apartment building were either injured or killed, but Bangkok governor MR Sukhumbhan Paribatra said the apartment rooms were mostly rented by people with their families and therefore there might not be many people living.He said the building was declared off limit as it might be now unsafe after the fire engulfed the upper floors.Bricks are still falling on the ground which could be dangerous if not ordered off limit.Rescue workers are now trying to enter the building to inspect and search if there were any trapped inside.Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/content/149716 -- Thai PBS 2016-02-05 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IamNoone88 Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 If 10 floors are a problem, there is little hope for anything above that in Bangkok. It seems with every fire disaster they just let it burn out and claim to then have it under control - Burn disco, Central + others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkady Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 WOW! Sad story for sure. There's usually an outside fire escape stairwell on both ends of buildings like this. Hope it wasn't blocked. Normally access is blocked by building management for security reasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvavin Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Thai free service only trained up to 3rd floor. Anything above, is good luck to you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natway09 Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 I have to agree with the previous writer that there looks like a lot of very flammable material in the building for the heat generated to collapse a floor. I have worked in the fire prevention business for some time & a normal concrete structure will not fail until the reo inside the concrete gets very hot & starts to buckle. My heart goes out to those trapped, a frightening experience Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaExport Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 WOW! Sad story for sure. There's usually an outside fire escape stairwell on both ends of buildings like this. Hope it wasn't blocked. Normally access is blocked by building management for security reasons. It reminds me of the fire drills we have in my building at work. You choose one side or the other during fire drills, but the doors are all locked from the outside. If you were to get down a few floors in an actual fire before realizing that you needed to choose the other side, you'd be out of luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enoon Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Fire alarm went of in a BK hotel I was staying in a few years ago. I was about 5 floors up. I suggested to a couple of my fellow guests that we not use the lift but use the fire escape. Of course when we got to the bottom it was locked. The last 2 flights were caged in so there was no way around. Happily it was a false alarm, and I had wedged the door on our floor open just in case. Makes you wonder though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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