The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is calling for fire safety instructions to be prominently displayed in all high-rises and large buildings in the capital as it launches a high-profile fire-safety and awareness campaign.
Bangkok governor Aswin Kwanmuang said City Hall has come up with a 10-point set of safety instructions on what to do in case of fire and wants them displayed in thousands of tall and large buildings or made easily available to their occupants.
He said Bangkok is home to 2,810 buildings higher than 23 metres, or eight storeys, and city officials are concerned about fire safety measures in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire tragedy in London which left scores dead.
The BMA's Department of Public Works, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, and all 50 district offices are intensifying inspections of high-rises and providing guidelines to help improve fire safety measures in them, the governor said.
The BMA safety instructions calls for occupants of a building to familiarise themselves with the building's fire safety system, floor plans, fire alarms and fire exits. The instructions also outline how to escape safely from a room and a building if a fire occurs.
The governor was speaking as he led a team of city officials from various departments and experts from the Engineering Institute of Thailand (EIT) to inspect the Bai Yok 1 building in Ratchathewi district.
He said the mangers of the building has strictly adhered to fire regulations over the years. The 43-storey building was constructed in 1984 before the enforcement of revised regulations under the Building Control Act. Its owner has applied for an annual inspection and if it meets all the requirements, it will be certified and issued a so-called Ror 1 certificate. Of 2,810 high-rises in the city, 1,033 were built before the enforcement of the revised regulations.