PHUKET: The man who owns the Tiger Disco was among those forced to leap from upstairs to safety as a blaze consumed the Phuket nightclub, killing four people.
In an exclusive interview with a Thai news outlet, Piya Isaramalai has expressed his belief that Friday's deadly fire in Patong was caused by lightning.
One of the club's bar staff today confirmed from her hospital bed that electricity had failed in the Patong disco before the fire broke out early on Friday morning.
Suri Deeying, 32, told Phuketwan: ''Five people jumped before me onto the top of a mini-van in the lane alongside the disco.
''But by the time I jumped, the van had been moved.''
She said that patrons and staff were sitting around in darkness for a few minutes after the electricity failed when someone called out: ''Fire! Fire!''
''We just didn't believe it,'' she said. ''We thought someone was playing a bad joke. Only when the flames came into view did we all run.''
Khun Suri said she was a long way from the flames but the fire moved fast because of the amount of polystyrene decorations around the disco dance area.
''I could hear the polystyrene popping,'' she said. ''The flames came very, very fast.''
She said the fire broke out about 4am, but the disco usually closed between 2am and 3am. Heavy rain had meant patrons continued to shelter in the disco, she said.
Video of the blaze taken from the Patong foothills - where electricity also failed early on Friday - supports accounts that the disco was in darkness at the time.
Khun Suri, who suffered a broken leg when she jumped, was greeted today by Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha and his wife, Phuket Red cross chair Nalinee Augkaradacha, at Bangkok Hospital Phuket.
The bar worker was among the 11 recorded as injured at Patong Hospital after the blaze but her transfer to Bangkok Hospital Phuket was not documented in a report sheet handed to journalists on Friday.
Another victim, Frenchman Benjamin Tallanotte, 30, was also transferred to Bangkok Hospital Phuket, suffering second degree burns to 40 percent of his body.
He has since been transferred to Bangkok for specialist treatment.
In an exclusive interview with a Thai news outlet, Piya Isaramalai has expressed his belief that Friday's deadly fire in Patong was caused by lightning.
One of the club's bar staff today confirmed from her hospital bed that electricity had failed in the Patong disco before the fire broke out early on Friday morning.
Suri Deeying, 32, told Phuketwan: ''Five people jumped before me onto the top of a mini-van in the lane alongside the disco.
''But by the time I jumped, the van had been moved.''
She said that patrons and staff were sitting around in darkness for a few minutes after the electricity failed when someone called out: ''Fire! Fire!''
''We just didn't believe it,'' she said. ''We thought someone was playing a bad joke. Only when the flames came into view did we all run.''
Khun Suri said she was a long way from the flames but the fire moved fast because of the amount of polystyrene decorations around the disco dance area.
''I could hear the polystyrene popping,'' she said. ''The flames came very, very fast.''
She said the fire broke out about 4am, but the disco usually closed between 2am and 3am. Heavy rain had meant patrons continued to shelter in the disco, she said.
Video of the blaze taken from the Patong foothills - where electricity also failed early on Friday - supports accounts that the disco was in darkness at the time.
Khun Suri, who suffered a broken leg when she jumped, was greeted today by Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha and his wife, Phuket Red cross chair Nalinee Augkaradacha, at Bangkok Hospital Phuket.
The bar worker was among the 11 recorded as injured at Patong Hospital after the blaze but her transfer to Bangkok Hospital Phuket was not documented in a report sheet handed to journalists on Friday.
Another victim, Frenchman Benjamin Tallanotte, 30, was also transferred to Bangkok Hospital Phuket, suffering second degree burns to 40 percent of his body.
He has since been transferred to Bangkok for specialist treatment.
Every fire and building safety expert will tell you that the insulating material polystyrene (sound/decoration/heat) is the worst to be used and in most developed countries polystyrene covers non-flammable materials such as concrete etc.
Polystyrene melts like candle wax in any fire and will destroying a room it insulates in a very short time. Is twice as combustible as wood and 112 times as combustible as urethane.
In addition, burning polystyrene on fire emits dense black smoke containing oily, sooty particulates and kills anyone in a matter of seconds. A small fire in a food warehouse, a freezer, or electronic equipment can contaminate the entire area. Even automatic sprinklers might not confine the fire fueled by polystyrene!
Is it legal in Thailand to use this material in hotels, restaurant and discotheques?
Posted by Mr. K on August 20, 2012 11:24