Building fire safety laws: Deadly fire reveals ineffectiveness
Doomed 10-storey building had no fire safety features as it was built before fire safety laws & laws not retroactive.
Doomed 10-storey building had no fire safety features as it was built before fire safety laws & laws not retroactive.
FIRE SAFETY
Deadly fire uncovers flaws in building fire safety laws
10/02/2016
Sirinya Wattanasukchai
Last Friday morning, a massive fire engulfed a luxury residential building in Narathiwat Soi 18, claiming one life and causing six injuries.
Just another case of a forgetful resident who left burning candles and joss sticks unattended, some might think.
If we look more deeply, we can see many flaws in laws and legal loopholes which, if addressed, would have prevented casualties, including the wife of the building owner who suffocated.
Burned out shell of the building after the fire. Built many years ago before fire laws enacted, did not have any safety features because safety laws not retroactive.
FIRE ESCAPES & SPRINKLERS
It's apparent that firefighters faced difficulty in getting to the location because it is on a narrow road and the building's height made it next to impossible to extinguish the flames.
But after an initial investigation, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) ruled out any breach of building fire safety regulations by the building owner.
The 1992 Building Safety Control Act requires that buildings over eight storeys tall be fitted with sprinkler systems and fire escapes.
This doomed building (nine storeys tall, 10 if rooftop area is counted) was an exception because it was constructed in 1991 and the law is not retroactive.
Experts from the Engineering Institute of Thailand (EIT) confirmed after an inspection on Sunday that there were no sprinklers or fire extinguishers inside in the building.
Fire escape ladders were installed only on the second floor.
TALL BUILDING, NARROW ROAD
For the same reason (laws not retroactive), the building owner didn’t breach the clause of the law prohibiting a building higher than 23 metres — or eight storeys — to be constructed on small roads or roads less than 10 metres wide.
This tall building, situated on a street narrower than 10 metres, doesn’t violate the current law.
EXISTING FIRE LAWS DO NOT ENSURE SAFETY
The fire on Narathiwat Soi 18 is a lesson, not just to building owners, but also the BMA.
As the damage and casualties show, not violating the law does not ensure the building met current safety standards.
There must be numerous other buildings in Bangkok, many being used for business or tourism purposes, that have the same safety problems but were built before the revised version of building fire safety laws took effect.
The EIT has actually independently suggested that for some 11,300 buildings — with certain features including those taller than 23 metres, larger than 10,000 square metres, accommodating more than 500 people and hotels with over 80 rooms to seek a yearly inspection by experts as a preventive measure.
There could at least be regular fire drills for residents or occupants, so that they know how to exit the building if there is a fire.
Installing fire escapes in old buildings so residents will not be trapped inside the old building if there was a fire or earthquake, would also be a good idea.
The Aetas Bangkok Hotel in Soi Ruam Rudi off Phloenchit Road faced demolition after the Administrative Court found that its construction breached regulations. The Building Control Act 1979 restricts construction to 23 metres, or eight storeys, on roads that are less than 10m wide. PATIPAT JANTHONG
AETAS HOTEL DEMOLITION ON RUANDUDEE ROAD
The 24-storey Aetas Hotel Bangkok on Ruamrudee Road was actually due to be torn down after an Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) ruling on Dec 2, 2014 (14 months ago) because it violated the Building Control Act 1979 (amended in 1992).
The court found that the building in question was constructed on a road that was less than 10 metres wide.
The luxury building, worth about 3 billion baht, may be considered too valuable to demolish, but imagine how difficult it will be for fire engines and firefighters to access the building given that the small Ruamrudee Road is always congested with traffic.
It may be too difficult for the BMA to push for outright demolition of this 24-storey building, but at least it should immediately be made to cease operations.
On top of that, the officials who “approved” the illegal building should be punished for seeing people’s lives as disposable.
Sirinya Wattanasukchai is an Assistant News Editor, Bangkok Post.
The narrow Soi Ruam Rudee which does not provide enough access to tall buildings like Aetna Hotel by fire engines.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/857832/deadly-blaze-uncovers-our-building-flaws
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