Blazing Fire Causes Evacuation of North Pattaya Big C

[TotallyOz]

Eager shoppers and employees at the Big C shopping complex in North Pattaya were thrown into a brief panic on Thursday night as an uncontrolled fire ignited forcing an evacuation of the center. It was later revealed that the blaze, a suspected electrical fire, was the second incident to occur at the busy shopping on the same day.

 

Pattaya, the 26^th of August 2010 [PDN]: At approximately 11:30pm on Thursday, Colonel Nunthawut Suwanla-ong (Pattaya Police Superintendent) was notified of a fire on the 4^th floor of the Big C Shopping Center in North Pattaya. Due to the severity of the incident, Pattaya Deputy Mayor Ronnakit Ekkasing along with a team of 5 engines from the Pattaya Fire Department attended the incident.

 

http://www.pattayadailynews.com/en/2010/08/27/brief-panic-following-storeroom-fire-in-north-pattaya-big-c/

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest GaySacGuy]

All that excitement and I missed it!! Being a retired firefighter, I am always interested in the goings on...Guess still a little firedog in me!!

[Guest travelerjim]

Eager shoppers and employees at the Big C shopping complex in North Pattaya were thrown into a brief panic on Thursday night as an uncontrolled fire ignited forcing an evacuation of the center. It was later revealed that the blaze, a suspected electrical fire, was the second incident to occur at the busy shopping on the same day.

 

 

Not only was it the second fire on the same day...

but the second one was started from the same problem

that caused the first fire just a couple of hours earlier.

 

What was the fire department doing...

when they left the first fire scene and the shorted wire...

was still left "live" to start another fire again?

 

The fire crew probably all headed over to get

some more "sticky rice and mango"?

 

Amazing Thailand!

 

tj

[Guest Patexpat]

According to the news report the fire department didn't attend the first outbreak, it was extinguished by staff.

 

Actually the Fire Department in Pattaya is the only emergency service I have respect for. Manned by and large by guys in their twenties, they have a surprisingly well equipped fire station on third road and is funded directly by city hall. They do their job without any 'back handers' or other perks, and have a remarkably well worked out system.

 

For example, for any fire the first vehicle dispatched is a motorcycle that has several fire extinguishers mounted on it. This is not a joke - it's the fastest way to the fire scene cutting in and out of Pattaya traffic. They have a couple of large hydraulic platform vehicles and I guess about a dozen others available.

 

Sadly this investment came about following the tragic fire at a high rise condo in Jomtiem a few years ago.

 

I have spoken to the first fireman who arrived at that scene, on his motorcycle. He recalled how he felt totally helpless with the situation that confronted him and had to wait for backup.

 

I even sponsored their football team for a couple of seasons ... now that was fun!

[Guest GaySacGuy]

Not only was it the second fire on the same day...

but the second one was started from the same problem

that caused the first fire just a couple of hours earlier.

 

What was the fire department doing...

when they left the first fire scene and the shorted wire...

was still left "live" to start another fire again?

 

The fire crew probably all headed over to get

some more "sticky rice and mango"?

 

Amazing Thailand!

 

tj

 

Unless your quite sure that they did something wrong, I think you are being a little hard on the fire crew. It is not an easy job, and while the fire crew may have turned off or disabled the circuit, it is possible that someone else turned it back on.

 

I have to stick up for firefighters....they make mistakes of course, but it is a hard job with out much in the way of rewards!

[Guest GaySacGuy]

According to the news report the fire department didn't attend the first outbreak, it was extinguished by staff.

 

Actually the Fire Department in Pattaya is the only emergency service I have respect for. Manned by and large by guys in their twenties, they have a surprisingly well equipped fire station on third road and is funded directly by city hall. They do their job without any 'back handers' or other perks, and have a remarkably well worked out system.

 

F

I even sponsored their football team for a couple of seasons ... now that was fun!

 

I am sure that the firefighters would thank you if they knew of your post. I will thank you for them...nice to hear some good words about a public agency in Thailand.

[Guest travelerjim]

I am sure that the firefighters would thank you if they knew of your post. I will thank you for them...nice to hear some good words about a public agency in Thailand.

 

YES, I do Thank them too...

It is a most difficult job to be a Fireman.

 

You are probably right, the second fire was

certainly not their fault.

 

I was surprised to see a real hook and ladder fire truck...

last week along Jomtien Road. It was red and big and newer.

 

I did not know that Pattaya had that capability,

considering the aging fire trucks usually seen parked

in their fire stations and those I have seen all across Thailand.

 

All the while hundreds of new Fire Trucks sit at the docks in Bangkok,

for Bangkok to use...but tied up in the fire truck purchase corruption

scandal which has been in the courts now for several years.

 

TIT...

 

tj

[Guest GaySacGuy]

Y

I was surprised to see a real hook and ladder fire truck...

last week along Jomtien Road. It was red and big and newer.

 

I did not know that Pattaya had that capability,

considering the aging fire trucks usually seen parked

in their fire stations and those I have seen all across Thailand.

 

 

TIT...

 

tj

 

If you walk on Third road between Central and South Pattaya road, you will pass by a nice fire station with quit a bit of equipment. I am sure that there is another station in the Jomtien area, but not familiar with it's location. I talk to the firefighters in the Third road station a couple of years ago, and they are quit prowed of their station.

[Guest beachlover]

It's easy to imagine Pattaya as a city vulnerable to tragic fires. High density of buildings jammed together... continual renovations, refits and new developments... lots of tourists... lots of dodgy practices... A major life-taking fire would be bad for tourism there.

[Guest beachlover]

Speaking of fires... There's been a lot of criticism of fire safety at DJ Station in Bangkok in recent years. Some people say they refuse to go there because of this.

 

The place gets really packed, to the extent that it gets hard to move around normally.

 

Many people wrongly think there are only three exits:

 

(1) main ground floor entrance and (2) backstairs entrance from the second floor [both feed into the same alley (Soi 2), which would severely restrict the speed of evacuation] and (3) an emergency exit door on the first floor which leads to a ladder, which drops into a fairly cluttered and debris strewn alley (not good in the dark).

 

However, it may not be as bad as it seems. There's another exit on the ground floor to the left of the stage next to the big bass speakers. Granted, it is chained and padlocked, but if you look carefully you'll notice there is always a friendly security guard there and he has the key to the padlock. I've checked myself and it seems he is there only for the purpose of manning that exit in the case of fire.

 

So I suppose in the case of a fire, you have two exits on the ground floor and two conventional exits on the second floor (plus the smoking area balcony, which you can jump from) - a total of four. I don't know what you'd do for the third floor, there aren't usually many people there, but I suppose it may be possible to jump from the smoking balcony there.

 

I don't know if this is adequate, especially for how packed it gets on Friday/Saturday nights, but I think it may be enough to ensure it isn't a complete disaster if a fire does break out (i.e. hopefully most people would get out).

 

Anyone else know anything about this?

 

What the situation at GOD?... I can only remember ONE exit there, the entrance door.

[Guest GaySacGuy]

Speaking of fires... There's been a lot of criticism of fire safety at DJ Station in Bangkok in recent years. Some people say they refuse to go there because of this.

 

The place gets really packed, to the extent that it gets hard to move around normally.

 

Many people wrongly think there are only three exits:

 

(1) main ground floor entrance and (2) backstairs entrance from the second floor [both feed into the same alley (Soi 2), which would severely restrict the speed of evacuation] and (3) an emergency exit door on the first floor which leads to a ladder, which drops into a fairly cluttered and debris strewn alley (not good in the dark).

 

However, it may not be as bad as it seems. There's another exit on the ground floor to the left of the stage next to the big bass speakers. Granted, it is chained and padlocked, but if you look carefully you'll notice there is always a friendly security guard there and he has the key to the padlock. I've checked myself and it seems he is there only for the purpose of manning that exit in the case of fire.

 

So I suppose in the case of a fire, you have two exits on the ground floor and two conventional exits on the second floor (plus the smoking area balcony, which you can jump from) - a total of four. I don't know what you'd do for the third floor, there aren't usually many people there, but I suppose it may be possible to jump from the smoking balcony there.

 

I don't know if this is adequate, especially for how packed it gets on Friday/Saturday nights, but I think it may be enough to ensure it isn't a complete disaster if a fire does break out (i.e. hopefully most people would get out).

 

Anyone else know anything about this?

 

What the situation at GOD?... I can only remember ONE exit there, the entrance door.

 

Chained and locked exits that no one knows about and might be opened by someone with a key in an emergency are not exactly a GOOD place to bet your life!!!

 

In a crowded room in an emergency, 90% of everyone in the place is going to try to exit the same way they came in, even with better marked exits closer. Therefore, you need large well marked exits to get people out in an emergency...and one going down a ladder and through a cluttered alley isn't much good either.

[Guest beachlover]

Well, I think people will move wherever they see people streaming out of the room.

 

I think the emergency exit (manned by the security guard with the key) is well marked.

 

Chained and locked exits that no one knows about and might be opened by someone with a key in an emergency are not exactly a GOOD place to bet your life!!!

 

The point I was trying to make is that the security guard seems quite diligent and is well aware of the importance of his role in unlocking that door in the case of an emergency. I agree it's not an ideal situation (what if he drops the key or the door opens inwards?), but I was still impressed they had implemented such a measure.

 

It doesn't look perfect but I don't think it's setup for a complete disaster. There's a good chance of escaping if fire does break out. It's not a no hoper as I used to think it was.

 

Speaking of, which ... anyone know if there's any exits at GOD?