Two fires in the center of the city in one month: too close to each other

Hello readers, I came to see you again, thinking of trying to recruit a light story to convey and talk about it, because every time we “Zoom In” there is a story of a disaster or fire as a case study. Unfortunately, we do not have the opportunity to talk lightly.

Since the beginning of March, there was a fire in a building in Bangkok, to mention two more buildings together. I am sure that there are a few readers who work or live in the 2nd area of this building. Do you think so? It is very close and always ready to happen. Without precautionary measures to prevent it, the damage to life and property would be so great that it could become a tragedy, as the adult principal warned, “Ten house robbers have not been as damaged as one fire.”

THE FIRST BUILDING, FICO TOWER ON SOKOKMONTRI STREET, OR SOI ASOKE, BURNED DOWN ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON, MARCH 3, 2012. IT WAS A 13-STOREY OFFICE BUILDING. NEARBY THERE WERE ONLY HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS CONNECTED TO NARROW TRAFFIC LANES, MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO ENTER THE EXTRACTION WATER. THE OFFICERS USED A BASKET TRUCK TO PROVIDE The fire brigade could be sprayed as quickly as possible, but it turned out that the baskets were not high enough. They had to link the cable car from another higher area to help. At the same time, the fire brigade personnel could not get inside immediately because the security system at the entrance door was keycard type. Once the power was cut off, it was not available, so they had to request it. Allow the building owner to smash the glass inside the building. The barrier allowed the fire to spread to the 13th floor. It took up to 3 hours for a cable car of sufficient height to arrive and fire brigade personnel to break the fire.

After the fire calmed down, a survey of the building was reported from Vast. as follows

1. THE FIRE PRESUMED TO HAVE OCCURRED ON THE 7TH FLOOR ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE BUILDING. THE BLAZE COVERED PART OF THE 7TH FLOOR AFTER WHICH THE FIRE SPREAD UPSTAIRS BY HEAT TRANSFER PENETRATING THROUGH THE GLASS WALLS AND ALUMINUM FRAMES ATTACHED TO THE EDGE OF THE BUILDING. THE FIRE EXPANDED MORE SPACE ON THE 8TH FLOOR AND THE FIRE BROKE OUT. The fire expanded to cover the entire building area on the 9th floor. For the 10th — 13th floors, the fire covered less space. It is expected to be the result of fire control by firefighters, causing the fire to spread in less area than the 9th floor.
   
2. Fire destroyed property, furniture, ceilings, building system work on floors 7 - 13
   
3. The structure of the building is columned and the concrete beams are cast in slightly damaged by the fire. There is no risk that the building will collapse.
   
4. Glass Curtain Wall Aluminum frame and damaged materials inside the building, such as ceiling skirting, air duct, air ducts, lamps may be blown down, so scaffolding should be installed outside the building. Plywood and mesh should be installed to prevent rapid falls.
   
5. The building structure should be thoroughly inspected, tested in accordance with engineering standards and certified for strength by a trusted institution or qualified engineer before the building is activated.
6. Although it is possible to repair, modify the building without being subject to the provisions of Ministerial Regulations No. 33 and 47, the building owners should be aware of the negative consequences. Additional improvements should be made to the automatic fire sprinkler system, provide for the blocking of fire protection areas across the building floors, improve fire escape routes, fire escape stairs and fire escape doors, improve detection systems and Fire notification to comply with the latest engineering and legal standards

Another building, the Grand Park Avenue Hotel, was born in the dark morning around 4 a.m. Of the 8th Mar. In 2012, inside the 5th floor banquet hall of the hotel in Soi Sukhumvit 22, Khlong Toei Nuea, Watthana district, Bangkok, where smoke spread rapidly and thickly, spread to other floors, allowing guests staying in the hotel to escape to their deaths. Firefighters and disaster relief workers had to divide the work kit into two parts, one of which was a breeze. The fire was sprayed urgently, taking 20 minutes to keep the flames under control, while the other took a cable car to rescue those trapped on the ramp, before being able to transport those trapped on the 15th floor, most of them foreigners.

A total of 22 people were injured in the incident, with the deaths being a 40-year-old woman and a 45-year-old man, both of whom were Russian, at the time of the incident that led to the hospital being taken to the hospital. The cause of death was known to have been asphyxiation, fire smoke and brain hypoxia. In addition, blood stains were found trapped inside the hotel, where the victims were expected to be injured. Sore some. Resistant to heat and lack of air, unable to breathe, to the point of having to smash the escape glass

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On the other hand, Phichaya Chandranuwat, chairman of the Royal Thai Engineering Safety Committee, who visited the scene of the incident, said there were a couple of points that should be noted and should be paid attention to:

1. The hotel's main stairway is attached to elevators and function rooms, but there are no walls or gates between the stairs, causing smoke to rise to other floors and quickly spread throughout the hotel, resulting in multiple fatalities and injuries. This is considered a defect of the old building where there are no doors or stairwells. The main ascent is high risk, similar to the incident at Jomtien Hotel Pattaya.
   
2. Each of the rooms has three sides, but the fire escape stairs of the existing hotel are on one side and have an incorrect appearance. Due to the fact that the other two rooms do not have fire escape ladders on the other side, guests must run to the fire escape stairs on the other side. A distance of more than 10 meters is not valid in accordance with the regulations of Bangkok. Year 2544
   
3. The fire was located in the area of the fifth-floor banquet hall. The fire burned materials, mainly decorative items, including carpets, which were easily ignited and spread. At the time of the incident, the banquet hall was closed. Initially, the hotel was informed by the signal control room that there was a fire inside the room, so it was investigated and found that there was a large amount of smoke. Erupted from the room, the initial damage was found to be the most damaged catering room at the scene. In addition, the 5-6 floor areas were not significantly damaged.
   

Fr. T. A. Ratsak Rak Slam Inv. Pine. Thonglor said the building owner, who must be prosecuted immediately, said the case consists of three parts:

1. A criminal case, which is initially a negligent offense causing death to others, will have to wait for evidence from several parts. If all the evidence has been collected, it will be possible to conclude the case within 3 days, who can be notified of the prosecution.
   
2. The case according to Fr. R. B. Control of the building, which is located in Bangkok. It is the operator who checks whether the building has been extended, modified or not, as well as whether the permit is valid, in order to reach a conclusion and proceed with the proceedings.
   
3. In civil cases, where, according to the law, the hotel is liable for all cases of injury and death. Liability cannot be denied because the fire occurred inside the hotel, even if it claims to have been caused by accident or short circuit, in which the victim is a relative of the deceased and the injured must coordinate with the hotel to negotiate remedies. Indemnification of damages, how to share in the liability, but if it is not possible to negotiate, the victim can file a lawsuit with the civil court to claim further damages.
   

Of the two incidents that took place at the time of the chase, it is a well-known high-rise building, with a large number of people entering the service, and also in the center of the city. It was also lucky that the incident occurred on holiday, otherwise the fire lasted more than 3 hours. On the working day, it can result in many more deaths. However, from the two incidents, a lot of damage was caused. There were deaths, injuries, property burned in the fire. The owners of the building were prosecuted. Both buildings were robbed and remembered in the minds of the people of Thailand and Thailand as soon as there was no safety. FORGIVENESS

I have always said that saving the security budget and modifying it to the point of reducing safety is a huge mistake, it is a very “not worth it” decision, not keeping up with the money that has been cut off the budget or what has been learned from the modifications. The lessons of the past are many, do not let the buildings we are involved in or in use. Is it better to be exposed to fire hazards on a regular basis, so called “meet yourself”?

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: Sutthiphan Wannawinwet: B. F. M. Limit suttipun@bfm.co.th

Thank you:
- Royal Thai Institute of Engineering (VST.)
- Web site of Khom Chad Luk, Daily News, Manager and Live News

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