The fire that swept through a Phuket disco last week showed yet again a shocking incompetence and lack of enforcement in safety and building codes.
Four people died and 11 suffered serious burns as the blaze destroyed the Tiger Disco in the tourist-friendly Patong area. While final reports are not in, all indications are that the lives were lost and altered needlessly.
Once again, there was no enforcement of emergency measures at a popular site. It seems that only heavy punishment will change the attitude of business owners.
The Tiger Disco has been a major attraction for some time in Patong. Owners and managers have clearly ignored a string of regulations. It is well known that the club often remained open well past official closing time.
The flouting of many laws is familiar throughout Thailand. Even when authorities try to enforce the laws, such as having proper fire escapes, owners change the building's setup as soon as the government officials leave.
Far too often, of course, there are wink-and-nudge agreements between the operators and corrupt or incompetent regulators. Business operators often are more concerned with today's profits than tomorrow's problems. Across the country, safety is seldom if ever a concern of business owners and operators. The blocked or locked fire exit is a familiar sight. Or, as was the case at Tiger Disco as reported by the lucky survivors, businesses simply open and operate without proper fire exits or firefighting equipment.
The survivors of the Tiger Disco fire literally fought their way out of the inferno. At least 11 were burnt, but many others reported other injuries in the panic. Hundreds of people surged into two small exits. Some were knocked to the ground, others were injured in the pushing, scraping and frantic melee to get away from the blaze.
It goes without saying, unfortunately, that there was no firefighting equipment in the disco, either smoke detectors, automatic sprinklers or manual extinguishers.
All these clear violations of the law are well known, and offer nothing new. All such law-breaking was evident after the Grand Park Hotel fire earlier this year, the Santika club fire on New Year's Day 2009, the Pattaya Royal Resort Hotel in 1997, the Kader Toy Factory in 1993.
Equally old hat are the next totally predictable few days of stern statements from officials vowing to "crack down" on violators. We do not need such media-friendly statements. We need a new national policy to move the entire country into the 21st century on such matters.
This is not just a matter for government, either. Indeed, business and industry leaders must be at the forefront of new, serious steps to halt the wink-nudge flouting of safety regulations. It is clear, however, that only a new regime of enforcement will succeed in changing the old ways.
Closing recalcitrant businesses and criminal prosecutions of their owners and managers will certainly receive strong support from the entire country.