Two foreigners perish in city hotel fire

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SOI SUKHUMVIT 22 BLAZE

Two foreigners perish in city hotel fire

Published: 9 Mar 2012 at 00.00
Newspaper section: News

Two foreigners are reported to have died after a fire broke out at the Grand Park Avenue Hotel on Soi Sukhumvit 22 in Klong Toey district last night.

Rescue workers evacuate a western woman from Grand Park Avenue Hotel after the fire broke out in the hotel building on Soi Sukhumvit 22 last night. PATIPAT JANTHONG

The fire was reported around 9.40pm. Thong Lor police suspected the blaze started at a seminar room on the fifth floor of the 18-storey building before spreading to other floors.

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khunbill
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Discussion 9 : 09 Mar 2012 at 10.449
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I know this hotel and Soi 22 very well. I always stay on Soi 22 when in Bangkok and just down the street from the Grand Park Ave. Hotel is a fire station with multi trucks. Hope they were put to good use.

Thats really a big hotel also
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dao
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Discussion 8 : 09 Mar 2012 at 10.018
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There are some very tall condos being built and the quality on some has been disappointing for sure .Lets hope that safety wasnt compromised for profit .Do fire fighters have what they need to fight these kinds of fires or is the equipment rotting in the sun at port because of a legal dispute .
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jacksprat
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Discussion 7 : 09 Mar 2012 at 09.537
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Another high rise fire, this one deadly. This is just one of the reasons you will not find me living higher than the 2nd floor in Bangkok. I wonder if the families of the victims will receive 7.5 million baht compensation.
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ausjohn
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Discussion 6 : 09 Mar 2012 at 09.446
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I was there, I saw the people lowered from the smoke filled building. They performed CPR on two foreign white men probably in their late 30's to 40's. One guy I talked to said he awoke to a burning smell in his room on the 14th floor. He thought his room was on fire so he ran out and down to the 7th floor which he said was full of smoke. He exited through the parking garage safely but said he could not believe how much smoke was already in the building especially since he NEVER heard a single fire alarm.....scary that a hotel would not have a fire alarm that could be heard in the rooms. He said no hotel staff attempted to call or knock on his door. He was concerned about his passport in the room and seemed a little shocked. I have to say that the thai emergency crews were amazing in their agility and competence handling a situation that was obviously exacerbated by the horrible state of management of this hotel. Investigations SHOULD FLY and heads should roll on this one. Whoever owns that hotel should be held accountable for the fire alarm or lack there of, assuming the credibility of the witness that is.
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pointman-1
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Discussion 5 : 09 Mar 2012 at 08.255
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I'm speaking from an engineer's standpoint of view....Some of the hotels just don't have good fire-escape systems. The best fire escape system I've seen was at a hotel (The Grand Jomtein Palace) in Jomtein, Thiland. In fact, I booked that hotel several times just because their fire escape plan is the best. The hotel has fire escape from every floor to outside stairways on the outside of building that lead to ground level.
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geoffo
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Discussion 4 : 09 Mar 2012 at 08.234
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Bangkok Governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra yesterday instructed all district directors to check the safety standards and fireresponse plans of buildings across the capital after a blaze broke out at the luxury Le Raffine condominium on Wednesday.

That was in August 2011. We could dig more and no doubt find more "vows" and "promises".

Remember Santika. These vows seem to mean about as much as the annual crackdown on child porn
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robertt
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Discussion 3 : 09 Mar 2012 at 07.003
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Déjà vu
Do fire and safety inspectors here in Thailand ever do their jobs?
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bkkmatt
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Discussion 2 : 09 Mar 2012 at 05.172
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Questions...

1) Did the sprinklers work?
2) How long did it take for the Fire crews to arrive?
3) How did the fire start?
4) Did the Hotel's Fire alarm work and did they have relevant fire safety equipment on ALL floors?
5) Did the Hotel staff assist with the evacuation?

Many questions need to be asked, and BP it is your responsibility to investiagte further.
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Rex

Discussion 1 : 09 Mar 2012 at 04.351
I do not know the specifics, but a thorough investigation into culpability re fire escapes and emergency egress must needs skilled people. I always confirm the access points of new places I stay in. I often find in Bangkok establishments they are used as storage areas and in one case the door was chained and padlocked shut. Death traps need to be policed and heavy fines imposed. Non compliance, shut them down.
from iPhone application.
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Two foreigners perish in city hotel fire | Bangkok Post: news