Jammie300 Posted January 1, 2009 Share Posted January 1, 2009 Woke up this morning to this story LINK A huge fire that destroys a Thai Nightclub in Bangkok. There is speculation that pyrotechnics started this fire? Could this be a repeat of the Great White Fire? There is one thing that is scarily similar which is that there was only ONE exit out of the building. Thoughs People? James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnhuson Posted January 1, 2009 Share Posted January 1, 2009 It does make you think that for all the complaining we do about health & safety legislation, fire regulations etc, the chances of something happening on this scale in the UK are significantly reduced because of the level of legislation we have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scjb Posted January 1, 2009 Share Posted January 1, 2009 From the initial sketchy reports, it would appear to be a depressingly standard domino effect of failures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lightnix Posted January 1, 2009 Share Posted January 1, 2009 ...LINKA huge fire that destroys a Thai Nightclub in Bangkok. There is speculation that pyrotechnics started this fire?Mobile 'phone clips taken just before the fire broke out, shows several people waving indoor sparklers. We had some similar "indoor" sparklers at the New Year's do we went to last night. If you read the small print on the container, you'd have noticed that it said "Do not hold after lighting" - presumably because the 1.5 inches or so of wire below the burning bit would have become too hot to hold - potentially leading to people dropping burning fireworks. My guess (and it is just a guess) is that this is how the fire in question may well have begun :unsure: Could this be a repeat of the Great White Fire?...It depends on what you mean by "a repeat". There have been other, pyrotechnically related, club disasters all over the world, across the years :( ...a depressingly standard domino effect of failures.From the initial reports, at least :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick S Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 Could this be a repeat of the Great White Fire? the chances of something happening on this scale in the UK are significantly reduced because of the level of legislation we have. To be fair, I'd say east-coast states in the US have some of the most stringent fire regulations I've ever worked with, mainly coming out of a spate of theatre fires in the 1930-40s. The Great White fire happened in spite of a level of regulation much on par with that in the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamtastic3 Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 A nightclub in Edinburgh shut just after the bells after a firework or pyro of some kind sparked the draped material they hung for the night to catch on fire. Apparently the punters thought it was apart of the display! No-one seems to be hurt but it's pretty rediculous these guys think that they could get away with it. Rules go out the window too many times. No one fancies the classic balloon drop anymore.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Lewis Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 Many of these horrific stories share similar problems - usually lack of fire exits, fire exits blocked or locked shut, use of flammable material, use of incendiary or pyrotechnic devices, overcrowding, people crushed in stampede for fire exit, people overcome inhaling combustion products. In the Bangkok fire, there were "few exits and the windows on the upper floors had iron bars across them" (Bangkok Fire Brigade quoted on BBC news site). On the same site, the Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva blamed the fact that fire crackers were taken inside the building. On 31-12-2004, 175 died in a venue in Buenos Aries, when "a celebratory flare was set off and foam in the ceiling caught fire". Many died unnecessarily since "Interior Minister Anibal Fernandez said four of the club's six doors were wired shut, (Reuters)". New Year 2001, in the Dutch town of Volendam, saw 10 deaths after a reported 'explosion' and inability to escape as exits were shut. 63 died in a club fire in Gothenburg on 28th October 1998, mainly due to overcrowding and the storage of furniture in one of the fire exit routes. Arson was believed to be the cause of the fire. In 1999, "more than 90 young people were injured, some seriously, when fires swept through two Austrian discos where dancers were ankle-deep in polystyrene chips". The polystyrene chips were supposed to be fire proof, but apparently caught fire from a discarded cigarette. Fire exits were blocked with slot machines. Some of these examples (Gothenburg, Station Nightclub) have a subsequent detailed examination of the disaster which is available in the public domain. It does not make for comfortable reading. My notes suggest that over 2660 have died in dance halls and clubs worldwide since 1940. In the case of The Station (Great White) there were multiple fire exits, but in a fire situation most people tend to evacuate the same way they came in, and the exit there was partially impeded for a time by the camera man filming the event (liability was subsequently admitted in court). Furthermore, one exit was by the stage - where the fire had started. So in answer to James's question - "is this a repeat of the The Station", the answer is probably "no" - we've had night club fires with similar causes and outcomes for years, and, somewhat depressingly, will probably see them again. Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnhuson Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 To be fair, I'd say east-coast states in the US have some of the most stringent fire regulations I've ever worked with, mainly coming out of a spate of theatre fires in the 1930-40s. The Great White fire happened in spite of a level of regulation much on par with that in the UK. A fair point Nick but I was largely commenting on the incident in Bangkok where it's not a secret that safety is poor at best, rather than the Station Nightclub fire. My point was that something like the Bangkok fire (large club in a capital city) is far less likely to happen in the UK. I'm not saying fires don't happen in the UK just that compared to the level of legislation in Thailand the likelihood is reduced but sadly can never be removed. As Simon says, neither of these are isolated incidents and sadly I'm sure we'll see something similar again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jammie300 Posted January 2, 2009 Author Share Posted January 2, 2009 Just reading some of the comments, The Great White immediately popped into my head when I first read this story, hence the comparisons, but this has put it more into context and Simon has explained this well. So yes I agree with Simon, that there were elements that were not similar but each and every fire that happens in an entertainment venue is different in its own right. But lessons never seem to get learnt and these are never one off fires. We wonder in the UK why we have the "Fun Police" (H+S Inspectors) but they are there for a reason James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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