In the wake of Thailand’s worst high-rise fire in Pattaya last week, people would be

well advised to immediately consider these question:

A lack of safety awareness-not just inadequate fire prevention systems contributes to fatalities in many fires,

Kanathat Chantrsiri, president of the Fire and Rescue Association [Fara], said yesterday. Many people fail to look out of fire escapes whenever they enter a high-rise building, he said. “They don’t know how to operate a fire extinguisher and fire drills are rarely practiced in many buildings.”

“There are also many fires in other countries, but they cause fewer casualties and less property damage because people have often practiced fire drills,” he said.

Despite its destructive and life-threatening potential, most people still neglect to practice safety measures when it comes to fire, Kanathat said.

“We often talk about enforcing the law and emphasizing the establishment of a fire safety system, but do very little in educating people about fire prevention or what to do in case of fire,” he said.

Established as a fire and rescue service centre six years ago, Fara has since provided fire prevention training to many organization and business operators.

Last year a “Young Fire Fighter” programme was launched to teach fire prevention to and create safety among young people, Kanathat said.

He said the installation of fire safety equipment such as alarms and sprinkler systems is useless in terms of fire prevention if it is not accompanied by the training of staff and the routine checking of equipment.

Her Royal Highness Princess Soamsawali takes a look at fire-fighting after presiding over the opening ceremony of the new office for the Ruam Katanyu Foundation in Bang Phli, Samut Prakan, yesterday. Foundation workers have been active in carrying out search and rescue operations in fire-hit buildings.

Tom Kanathat Chantrsiri

“What is the use of installing a smoke detector if no one at all times to monitor the display in a control room?” he said.

Without routine checking of the pumps, a sprinkler system – which needs at least 54,000 liters of water to operate properly – cannot work efficiently, he said.

Kanathat said it is important that fire drills be made compulsory in every high-rise building.

During fire drills in many countries there will not only be a fire extinguisher demonstration but also training in how to rescue and control the [human] traffic he said.

“For example, the team responsible for the occupants will check all the rooms in the building to make sure that everybody has been evacuated to a safe place,” he added. Kanathat also suggested that every high-rise should have its own fire rescue team to prevent the fire from escalating and to keep crowds under control.

“It’s almost impossible in the heavy traffic of Bangkok, or any other big city, for the fire brigade to arrive at the scene on time, as is evident in most fires [here],” he said.

So, what should one do if a fire breaks out? “Report the incident as soon as possible and try to extinguish the blaze,” Kanathat said, adding that it is important that people learn to know how to put out a fire.

He said that if a fire is reported with in four minutes of starting, it can still be put out before causing casualties or major damage, provided there are fire extinguishers available and staff are trained to use them.

“But if the fire has been burning for longer than four to eight minutes, it will be every difficult to extinguish,” he said

A fire escape should provide the best route out of the building, he said. To avoid suffocation use a wet handkerchief to cover your mouth and nose and stay low to the ground.

It is also disastrous if fire exits are kept locked, as was the case at the Royal Jomtien Resort Hotel fire in Pattaya last week.

The worst hotel fire in Thai history, the blaze claimed the lives of 91 people.