Narrow road foils firefighters

SEVERAL FIRE trucks that rushed to a burning apartment building in Bangkok early yesterday were prevented from reaching the fire because access was too narrow for the vehicles to negotiate. The blaze killed three people and injured more than 30 others before it could be put out. 
Firemen jumped out of their vehicles at least 100 metres from the Rajtevee Apartment building in the capital’s Ratchathewi district, and ran towards the building carrying fire-fighting equipment. 
The blaze in the 15-storey building started at about 2.30am yesterday, likely because of an electrical short-circuit. It then spread quickly through the electrical wiring shaft.
Without fire trucks, firemen carried hoses and connected them to the water sources closest to the building. Without hydraulic cherry pickers, they had to climb staircases to reach the people who were trapped inside. Many victims suffered seriously from smoke inhalation and could not escape on their own. 

It took firemen about two hours to extinguish the blaze. 
“We could have acted faster in saving people if fire trucks, including those with cherry pickers, could have directly reached the building,” an official from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s (BMA) Fire and Rescue Department said yesterday on condition of anonymity. The apartment building is now off-limits as authorities plan a careful investigation that could take one or two months. 
The Rajtevee Apartment building has 180 units and features fire-prevention systems in line with the Building Control Act of BE 2535 (1992), even though the law took effect after its construction. 
“We inspected this building last year and everything was fine then,” Ratchathewi District Office director Thirayut Phumisak said.
Rajtevee Apartment Limited Partnership, which owns several buildings, announced via a representative that it would provide remedial action for the victims and affected residents. “We will take care of them,” the representative said. 
Thirayut said most of the injured victims had lived on floors nine to 11.
“At this point, we will focus on helping the victims first. We have not yet identified who should be held responsible for this fatal fire,” he said. 

Warut Poonpon, a resident, said the scene was chaotic and depressing, as people had to rush for their lives as smoke spread. 
Engineering Institute of Thailand president Assoc Professor Thanes Weerasiri said officials found the lift shaft door was open on the 12th floor.

“Had the door been left open during the fire, smoke could have seriously flooded the 12th floor,” Thanes said. “Had the door been closed, smoke could have soared to the top of the building.” 
At present, laws do not require apartment building operators to stage fire-evacuation drills for residents. The BMA Fire and Rescue Department source said that without such a requirement, residents might be clueless in times of emergency. 
Thanes said the owners of several buildings in Bangkok should pay attention to legal and safety requirements. Even buildings constructed before the Building Control Act took effect had to abide by this law. 

“For example, all buildings must install fire-extinguishing cylinders at on every floor. Also, they must have fire alarms in place,” Thanes said. “Building owners must provide fire-prevention-system inspections by qualified inspectors every year.”
The structures of many buildings constructed before the act was introduced are different from those developed later, but they can be adjusted to comply with the laws. In the Ratchathewi district alone, there are more than 300 such buildings.