Shut down fire-code violators
Surprise, surprise! The fire-damaged Grand Park Avenue Hotel on Sukhumvit Soi 22 had neither fire exits nor a smoke-blocking system, so smoke travelled through the building quickly, resulting in two dead and 20 injured.
Another building that was damaged in a blaze recently, Fico Place, on Asoke Road, had no sprinklers, and fire escapes were hard to find in an emergency. No wonder a recent Suan Dusit Rajabhat University survey of Bangkok residents found that over half had no confidence in fire prevention systems in the capital. The situation is probably even worse in the provinces.
I recommend both “stick” and “carrot” approaches. On “sticks”, I recommend that building owners be given six months to ensure complete compliance with the Building Control Act. After that deadline, any violation that could lead to serious injury or death – such as lack of fire exits, or clear exit instructions – would automatically mean that the floor where the building code was being violated would be closed to public access until the violation had been certified to have been cleared up. Also, such closure would have to be immediately reported in all materials released to the public, including on the Internet, and prominently posted at all entrances to the building, so that prospective clients would have fair warning of the dangers.
Whistle-blowing of such violations must be encouraged, to save lives and combat corrupt building inspectors. Thus, whistle-blowers would get full witness protection and a reward of, say, triple the cost of rectifying the building code violations, with a minimum of Bt1 million. The cost of protecting and compensating whistle-blowers would be paid for by the building owners.
As a “carrot”, I suggest that a credible engineering or architectural institute offer a seal of approval certifying that a given building had met – and continued to meet, on a yearly basis – the highest international standards of fire safety (like the famous Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval in the US). Owners of buildings seeking approval would pay for all costs, including a profit margin, for the tests necessary for certification, and double these costs would be deductible from taxable income. Those winning seals of approval would be encouraged to advertise their achievement.
Let’s make infernos a thing of the past.
Burin Kantabutra
Bangkok
