No Smoke Detectors in Dorm Where 17 Schoolgirls Died

[webfact]

No Smoke Detectors in Dorm Where 17 Schoolgirls Died
By Teeranai Charuvastra
Staff Reporter


Two survivors of the Pitakkiet Witthaya School fire on Monday in Chiang Rai province.

CHIANG RAI — The charity-run dormitory where 17 schoolgirls died Sunday night was not equipped with a single smoke detector, its director said today.

Five days after young survivors said no alarm was raised when the fire killed their classmates, school director Rewat Wassana said in an interview that the dormitory did not have smoke detectors installed. Rewat said he and other staff were questioned by police Thursday, and the officers are still trying to determine the cause of the fire. He said police have not ruled out any possible cause, including arson.

Full story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1464331479


-- Khaosod English 2016-05-27

[MZurf]

Horrible tragedy, a tragedy easily avoided by simple means. Unfortunately these incidents will continue to happen until Thais get serious about safety, and I just don't see that happening in this century.

[chainarong]

The Place was run by a charity, now one doesn't know their name, however if they originated from the West they would know this is a requirement in their country , it is important enough to suggest that Thai authorities do a complete audit on all of these types of establishments and ensure that they are installing these types of safety features on their premises, and this would apply for all other buildings where people are gathered , for not to do so is criminal......................................

[Lannig]

How is that news, sadly?

Smoke detectors in a rural school dorm in Thailand? I'd be quite surprised if there are

[Mook23]

And if there were detectors would they have worked? The maintenance around here is often nonexistent. And then there's the closed from outside door. Horror story. ?

[CGW]

The Place was run by a charity, now one doesn't know their name, however if they originated from the West they would know this is a requirement in their country , it is important enough to suggest that Thai authorities do a complete audit on all of these types of establishments and ensure that they are installing these types of safety features on their premises, and this would apply for all other buildings where people are gathered , for not to do so is criminal......................................

Thai authorities do a audit! which competent Thai authorities are you referring too, there are non! TIT, this is Thailand, corruption rules - sadly!

[lopburi3]

Unfortunately there is often enough smoke in the air from village trash burning/cooking/open windows to set detectors off so unless a closed and air conditioned facility they are not likely to be used here.

[bbbbooboo]

Hmmmm.......no smoke detectors

[Adeeos]

I can tell you from 1st hand experience,, in a large supermarket in bkk,, all of the installed smoke detectors STILL had the protective installation covers on them,, some were low enough to reach,, they CLEARLY say on them,, "remove after installation",, I pulled one off,, found the manager,, and polity explained,, she did speak English enough to understand,, she took from me,, and promptly placed it BACK onto the detector,,, I also saw exactly the same thing in a friends recently remodled bar,, had to point it out to him also,,, soooo simply installed,, may have done NO GOOD! I'll bet if members start looking at them, you'll see exactly the same,,,

[swifty5x5]

No somoke detectors. Charges should be laid.

[DM07]

Surprise!

[cardinalblue]

What does the regulation say?

A simple thing like a smoke detector takes a lot of work to install maintain test erc..

In the absence of reg and enforcement these processes don't magically appear...

Where do you expect Thais to gain western knowledge?

[HerbalEd]

How is that news, sadly?

Smoke detectors in a rural school dorm in Thailand? I'd be quite surprised if there are

All the more reason to make this a news item and tell as many people as possible.

[mercman24]

i believe i read that 18 poor souls died,must have been smoke got the better of them as it was only a two story building

[Jonmarleesco]

Not even the most basic of safety features. Moronic but not surprisng. No doubt those truly (ir)responsible will get away with it.

[JAG]

What a terribly sad picture of two traumatized little girls.

[Bangkok Barry]

No smoke detectors in a wooden building. Just how can these people be so stupid. it beggers belief, but normal thinking in Thailand. No clue at all.

[BermudaJack]

Please stop talking about smoke detectors!

Get to the point: yet again the dormitory was LOCKED. Even with alarms the girls would be dead. What a f**ked up system. Manslaughter charges all round would be apt, but it won't happen except for the odd scapegoat.

It's made even worse by it being a 'Christian' charity. Why here? Haven't the Christians screwed up their own cultures enough? Send 'em home!

[Doc46]

Health and Safety ,,,,Not imported ,,Making Money Is,,,,

[Winniedapu]

Reason? Value of smoke detector > value of a hill-tribe child.

OR:

Easier to lock doors than to provide fire escape routes.

No other interpretation.

Somebody needs to be going to prison and losing their assets. if that is a church then so be it.

W

[lopburi3]

Please stop talking about smoke detectors!

Get to the point: yet again the dormitory was LOCKED. Even with alarms the girls would be dead. What a f**ked up system. Manslaughter charges all round would be apt, but it won't happen except for the odd scapegoat.

It's made even worse by it being a 'Christian' charity. Why here? Haven't the Christians screwed up their own cultures enough? Send 'em home!

There was a teacher inside who likely had the keys but the fire prevented access to ground floor - I have not seen any verified report that building occupants were locked inside - there were no security bars in any case in photos I have seen. It seems they did not escape because they did not believe there was a danger prior to being overcome

[aussiandrew]

Everybody is wiser after the event smoke detectors by themselves are not the answer as failures to regularly check the power source can give one a false impression.

In this case a trained adult in emergency evacuation along with key students to assist to raise the the alarm early enough to get everybody outside the wooden structure. A simple whistle or banging a tin to wake everybody and get them clear of the building. As I said everybody's wiser after the event. RIP little children

[Scouse Twoccer]

And if there were detectors would they have worked? The maintenance around here is often nonexistent. And then there's the closed from outside door. Horror story. ?

No reports have said that the children were locked in, which presumably is what you mean. A closed door isn't an issue.

[Scouse Twoccer]

Please stop talking about smoke detectors!

Get to the point: yet again the dormitory was LOCKED. Even with alarms the girls would be dead. What a f**ked up system. Manslaughter charges all round would be apt, but it won't happen except for the odd scapegoat.

It's made even worse by it being a 'Christian' charity. Why here? Haven't the Christians screwed up their own cultures enough? Send 'em home!

Stop talking about the dormitory being locked - unless you've got a link that backs up your allegation.

[Mook23]

The original reports stated the dorm was locked ...

[katana]

Please stop talking about smoke detectors!

Get to the point: yet again the dormitory was LOCKED. Even with alarms the girls would be dead. What a f**ked up system. Manslaughter charges all round would be apt, but it won't happen except for the odd scapegoat.

It's made even worse by it being a 'Christian' charity. Why here? Haven't the Christians screwed up their own cultures enough? Send 'em home!

Stop talking about the dormitory being locked - unless you've got a link that backs up your allegation.

See here:

"...Primary inspection revealed that so many lives were perished because the dormitory was locked from outside, thus trapping the victims inside...."

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/919379-17-schoolgirls-dead-in-fire-at-boarding-school-in-chiang-rai/#entry10776856

[silent]

What does the regulation say?

A simple thing like a smoke detector takes a lot of work to install maintain test erc..

In the absence of reg and enforcement these processes don't magically appear...

Where do you expect Thais to gain western knowledge?

Here maybe if it weren't made so difficult to teach and a matter of losing face if they don't already know.

[lopburi3]

Please stop talking about smoke detectors!

Get to the point: yet again the dormitory was LOCKED. Even with alarms the girls would be dead. What a f**ked up system. Manslaughter charges all round would be apt, but it won't happen except for the odd scapegoat.

It's made even worse by it being a 'Christian' charity. Why here? Haven't the Christians screwed up their own cultures enough? Send 'em home!

Stop talking about the dormitory being locked - unless you've got a link that backs up your allegation.

See here:

"...Primary inspection revealed that so many lives were perished because the dormitory was locked from outside, thus trapping the victims inside...."

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/919379-17-schoolgirls-dead-in-fire-at-boarding-school-in-chiang-rai/#entry10776856

And there has been no further reporting to support that (preliminary inspection) - in fact reports state access to ground floor was not possible for those inside.

[SantiSuk]

The batteries would be stolen, Day 2

[Artisi]

The batteries would be stolen, Day 2

Corny flawed argument, as there weren't any smoke detectors to have batteries stolen from, so what is the point of your post.