Fire at DJ Station

[reader]

A fire broke out late this afternoon at DJ Station on Silom Soi 2. The fire department knocked it down fairly quickly but smoke filled the area. It reportedly originated in electrical equipment.

Soi 2 was closed off this evening.

 

[floridarob]

I've always thought what a firetrap that place was and believe it or not, used to check the fire exits when I was in there to make sure they worked and weren't locked.

[reader]

10 minutes ago, floridarob said:

I've always thought what a firetrap that place was and believe it or not, used to check the fire exits when I was in there to make sure they worked and weren't locked.

You’d have been crazy not to.

Has the potential to become another Coconut Grove catastrophes.

[Jimbillp]

I was in there 2 weeks ago.  It would be chaos in a fire.  So full at times it was like a rush hour subway carriage.  You literally couldn’t move anywhere.  

[khaolakguy]

Thank heavens this fire didn't happen when it was open. Like others I was very aware of the dangers there. In checking the exits I once managed to open(it was usually locked) a door out to the rear of the building from the top floor. It led out to a fire escape, but it was blocked lower down with old freezer units.

[PeterRS]

This has been discussed in other threads over the years. The possibility of an evening fire in DJ Station or anywhere else in that soi with its extremely narrow entrance is a disaster just waiting to happen. Why the fire department is not more strict re emergency exits etc. beats me. Remember the Santika nightclub fire in 2009? Emergency exits again closed or blocked. 67 died in that fire.

[reader]

45 minutes ago, PeterRS said:

Why the fire department is not more strict re emergency exits etc. beats me. Remember the Santika nightclub fire in 2009? Emergency exits again closed or blocked. 67 died in that fire.

A great question with a not so great answer. But city hall is a good place to begin looking.

it was in 2003 when the responsibility for fire suppression was shifted from the Metropolitan Police to the newly formed Bangkok Fire and Rescue Department. But 80% of the members of force held police ratings and chose to remain members of that force while continuing to work in the fire service.

How fire safety laws are promulgated, and what agency is given enforcement powers has much to do with the outcome. The city’s building department has wide authority to oversee many of the conditions that could create a hazard to life and property. After the fact, it appears that the police have the responsibility for determining the cause of fires.

The fire department appears to be primarily a response asset in the greater scheme of things in Bangkok.
 

This article from the Bangkok Post in 2012 claims that 82% of buildings ignored fire regulations:

https://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/advanced/1228742/fire-safety-82-of-buildings-ignore-fire-regulations

We’d certainly like to think that that the record has improved in the succeeding decade.

For those who’ve been to any crowded venue, your  chance of surviving a fire depends on a handful of critical factors. Some of these include the capacity and availability of the exit ways, the presence of automatic water sprinklers, activation of a fire detection system to provide early warning and the response time of the fire department.

But I think it’s wise to bear in mind Floridarob’s experience the next time you find yourself in a crowded venue when your mind is understandably on other things.

[PeterRS]

I have a condo on the top floor of an 8 storey building in a residential area of the city. Until I started making life difficult for the management company - which otherwise is actually very good - no one paid any attention to fire. Every time I raised the issue at the owners AGMs, I would be told that all the apartments have smoke detectors (but no sprinklers) and there are fire hoses, extinguishers and emergency lighting on every floor.

But the main staircase is completely open all the way up the building. There are stairs at the back, but everyone just left those doors open, especially the cleaning staff. It took me 3 years not only to persuade everyone, management and some tenants, that these had to be kept closed and there had to be Fire Exit notices in red on each. Only after I said I would pay for the latter myself were they finally put up.

Then there is the issue of fire drills. Again it took about 3 years but the management did organise an excellent demonstration by the fire department of what to do in case of a fire and how to use the fire equipment. 9 out of 50 owners/tenants turned up. But the twice a year fire drills I have consistently sought have never happened. Nor do we know where the evacuation assembly area is.

A majority of the residents here are Thai. It is perfectly obvious they have not the faintest concern about fire. And I expect this is true of much of Thai society, alas. I have always had my own extinguisher from HomePro in my apartment and I expect it should not be difficult for fires in individual apartments to be contained within the units at least to enable everyone else to get out of the building - assuming the fire alarms continue to work!

[Guest]

21 hours ago, reader said:

It reportedly originated in electrical equipment.

If the internal electrical installation is as shoddy as external wiring and most other workmanship, this must be a fairly common event.

 

17 minutes ago, PeterRS said:

Then there is the issue of fire drills. Again it took about 3 years but the management did organise an excellent demonstration by the fire department of what to do in case of a fire and how to use the fire equipment. 9 out of 50 owners/tenants turned up. But the twice a year fire drills I have consistently sought have never happened. Nor do we know where the evacuation assembly area is. 

A majority of the residents here are Thai. It is perfectly obvious they have not the faintest concern about fire. And I expect this is true of much of Thai society, alas. I have always had my own extinguisher from HomePro in my apartment and I expect it should not be difficult for fires in individual apartments to be contained within the units at least to enable everyone else to get out of the building - assuming the fire alarms continue to work!

As for fire drills, well my ex employer had those about once a year.   We trudge out through the exits, stand in the car park for a while and go back in having learnt nothing.   Invariably on a sunny day.

The earthquake drills in Japan were slightly more interesting.   Hide under desks, presumably as protection from things falling off the ceiling.   Then trudge down the stairs.    The drills never involved using the inflatable escape slide from the 9th floor, which was something of a relief.

Fire alarms are an interesting topic.   I wonder how often these are tested in hotels & such buildings ?     I don't recall reading of any disasters, so presumably things are under control.   

 

[Min]

DJ Station is back to normal business already (just one day after the incident)

[gerefan]

3 hours ago, z909 said:

 

Fire alarms are an interesting topic.   I wonder how often these are tested in hotels & such buildings ?     I don't recall reading of any disasters, so presumably things are under control.   

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Jomtien_Resort_Hotel_fire
 

This tragedy occurred in Jomtien. The site is on the left as you reach the beach walking down from Jomtien Complex.

[aussie_]

Even without a fire the DJ Station soi is a disaster waiting to happen. I was leaving DJ Station a few years back and after an alarm bell went of I was nearly crushed in the rush of the packed weekend crowd to escape out on to Silom Road. 

[Lotusleaf]

I was at GSM sauna once when the towels caught fire in the dryer.  The staff were busy pulling them out onto the floor and into the corridor .  The corridor lead to the locker room (one way in and out).  Luckily it was extinguished fairly quickly. 

Some years later a fire did occur in the building claiming one sauna patron. 

https://www.fridae.asia/gay-news/2009/01/06/2186.fire-in-bangkok-gay-sauna-kills-patron

[reader]

I was staying at the old Dusit Thani hotel on the evening of the fatal GSM fire in Chinatown. The sirens of passing fire vehicles droned on for over an hour. According to press accounts, one guest from Singapore was killed and 36 were injured. The blaze was reported at 8:30p.m. and raged for hours. Photos show patrons being rescued from an aerial platform with only towels wrapped around them.

The article makes mention of DJ Station.