Fire prevention in Thailand

My neighbor in Alkmaar was a professional officer with the Fire Department, which, by the way, consists largely of volunteers. He was responsible, among other things, for fire prevention, that is to say, providing information about this and monitoring, in particular in Alkmaar's catering establishments. For the latter he was not very popular with the owners, because his fire prevention requirements were often binding and cost money.

After the big one brand in Volendam in 2001, in which 14 people died, surveillance was intensified throughout the country.

Emergency exits for hotels

In our regular conversations while enjoying a good glass of beer you also talk about your work. He knew that I traveled a lot and in hotels and he once pointed out to me that hotels are ideally suited for large fires. Since then and maybe even before, I always check the emergency exits and the nearest fire extinguisher near my room when I arrive at a hotel. I once experienced a fire alarm at night in a hotel in London. Scary, yes, but it soon turned out to be a false alarm.

Fortunately, my direct experience with fire is limited to the Easter fires in the past in Twente and later the Christmas tree burnings in Alkmaar. Still, I am terrified every time I read about a hotel fire (or plane crash), because it could have happened to me.

Kill

Also in Thailand fire does occur, but I have the impression that the damage is generally not too bad. In 1997 there was a major hotel fire in Pattaya that killed 88 people. More famous, because more recently, is perhaps the fire in the Sontika Club in Bangkok in 2009, which killed 66 people. I myself remember the fire close to home in a newly set up disco, Route 66, where 12 people died in the flames.

I said it's not too bad, because if you look at a few things like that, it's surprising that there aren't many more fires and related disasters in Thailand. For starters, you have the large uncontrolled fires in the countryside where the waste from rice harvesting is removed from the fields. Often near a village or at least houses and a small flying spark can just start a big fire. When you travel by car, you also regularly see roadside fires (cigarette thrown out the window?), but apparently nobody cares about that.

Cables

Another source of potential disaster is overhead cabling. Not only the electricity is fed above ground, but also all kinds of other cable connections for (tele) communication, telephone and the like. When you then see the large tangle of cables at intersections, where the cable routes also intersect, it can be called a miracle that accidents do not happen more often. If such a tangle is located near a building, a flying spark in the event of a short circuit can easily be the cause of a fire. If you're waiting at a traffic light and it's raining, you regularly see those sparks flying off cable nodes.

The hospitality industry in Thailand is obviously - just like in many other countries - the source of calamities. In hotels it is often not too bad, I see good fire water pipes, lots of fire extinguishing equipment and also good instructions in the room to, for example, the emergency exits. Not too long ago, in a parking lot of a hotel here in Central Pattaya, I saw an instruction from the Fire Department for hotel staff on how to use the fire extinguishers. Not only the men, but also the (little) chambermaids had to put out a fire themselves with the available material. That's good work! It was a large hotel and I cannot judge whether the smaller hotels and especially guesthouses also have good fire extinguishing facilities. Frankly, I have my doubts about that.

Most bar complexes are open air and nowadays more and more concrete. Fleeing from a fire will not often be a problem if it does happen in, for example, the older complexes that still contain a lot of wood.

Disc

In my opinion, the greatest threat comes from the larger clubs and discos, where many people gather. The often somewhat hidden A go go's with a lot of glitter and a lot of flammable decorative material can also be a good prey for fire. The first time I entered such a large disco, the Hollywood in the inner city of Pattaya, saw in the twilight the mass packed audience just puffing a cigarette. I myself am a (cigar) smoker, but in such places smoking should be absolutely prohibited.

You can reach Lucifer's disco, for example, by walking through the café through a narrow passage to the back. When you see that crowd of people, you shouldn't think about a fire breaking out, because many visitors are guaranteed to be trapped like rats. Emergency exits? Yes, you do see a few, but the question is whether they work if it is really necessary. I have also seen emergency exits closed with large chains.

Fire prevention? My neighbor here could give a lot of development aid in that area, because I don't think real prevention is a priority in Thailand. A real disaster will first have to happen – just like in the Netherlands with “Volendam” – before fire prevention in Thailand really gets the necessary attention.