Bangkok reviews fire safety rules after deadly pub blaze

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is to consult the Department of Public Works and Town & Country Planning on revising regulations governing the materials used in the construction and decoration of night entertainment venues and restaurants with live music following Sunday night's fatal blaze.

The administration will also consider redrawing the zoning of entertainment venues to reflect the fact that such establishments are no longer confined to areas such as RCA and Silom, but are now scattered across the capital, Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said on Monday.

He noted that the pub, Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao, which caught fire late on Sunday night, killing at least 27 people and injuring more than 60 others, was registered as a restaurant with live music and therefore was not required to use fire-retardant materials in the construction and decoration of its interior.

A fire expert has offered a scientific explanation for why the fire spread so quickly, making it impossible for many customers to escape. He said cheap and highly flammable acoustic wall panels may have been used in the interior decoration.

Another possible factor was the backdraft phenomenon, a violent explosion that occurs when oxygen is suddenly introduced into a superheated, oxygen-depleted space, creating a massive pressure wave and fireball capable of instantly destroying structural partitions, he said.

Governor Chadchart said the pub was inspected by Chatuchak district officials in April and was cleared after meeting all legal safety requirements, including two fire exits with exit signs, an emergency lighting system and fire extinguishers.

He admitted, however, that after the fatal fire it was discovered that the entrance and some fire exits had been blocked by stock, materials or furniture, making them difficult to use during an emergency.

The BMA's Public Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office currently believes the fire was caused by an electrical short circuit in an air-conditioning unit above the ceiling of the single-storey building, which had a metal-sheet roof.

It was also reported that the owner of the venue owned another pub, Sa Leng, in Yasothon province. That building was destroyed by fire in December 2019, but there were no casualties because the blaze occurred during the daytime.

Meanwhile, the Chatuchak District Office said on Monday that relatives of those who died in Sunday's fire will each receive initial compensation of 29,300 baht, while those injured and receiving hospital treatment will each receive 4,000 baht.