Sunday’ August 3,1997 

EYEWITNESS & OPINION

SUNDAY FOCUS  C3

Fire Safety: The Buck Stops Here

Stamping out apathy is the only way to stop tragedies like the Pattaya hotel blaze (July 11,1997)

from recurring,says fire  expert Kanathat Chantrsiri, And The place to start,

he says,is with children.Wee Soo Cheang reports.

If any man sums up both what’s wrong about fire safety in this country and points to a better way too, it’s Kanathat Chantrsiri

Kanathat is Thailand’s leading fire expert, yet he’s never been a firefighter. He got  where he is today not because of his own passion and determination.

“Tom the Fireman” as Kanathat, 45 ,is known to his friends, sits on the board of a  haft-a-dozen  committees, is fire-safety adviser for a number of private companies and lectures to officials from  the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and the Police Department.

Just hours after fire broke out at the Royal  Jomtien Resort Hotel last month Kanathat’s phone started ringing off the hook.

Kanathat Chantrsiri (Tom)

I’ve been warning people for years.

Everybody from reporters to building operators and police investigators were eager to talk to him .  They wanted to know how the fire ,which killed 98 people and injured scores of other, could have got out of hand so quickly, what could have been done to prevent it and , once it had broken out, how rescue operation  could have been facilitated.

“I’ve been warning people about something like this for years,” he moans, shaking   his had. But the only time anyone takes any notice is after it happens. By than it’s too late and they soon forget all about it.”

Young Vigilantes: Children attend Kanathat's Course for Young Firefighters.

It’s also ironic that although many new high-rise buildings are fitted with the latest fire safety equipment, it isn’t maintained. Somme buildings well designed for safety, but are badly located in narrow so is which makes access difficult or downright impossible during an emergency. Building operators often employ a large security staff- but than don’t train them properly for emergencies. Building codes and safety laws exist but are seldom enforced.

Kanathat was a former law student and television scriptwriter and never dreamed he would one day find his calling a fire safety expert. After graduating from RamkamhaengUniversity in 1975, joined the media and public relations department of Siam Cement, the country’s largest cement-manufacturing company . His job was to write scripts for in-house videos, one of which was aimed at educating employees about fire safety.

“I didn’t know anything about the subject so I had to research it from scratch,”

He says. In truth , there wasn’t much information to be had , so Kanathat had to refer to books on fire safety standards and procedures from the United States.

The assignment made him realize how inadequate the standards were here. Over the next decade, he kept himself up to date on the issue and grew increasingly disturbed as he noted taller and taller buildings springing up that were both potential and real, death traps.

Eight years ago, he traveled to Seoul, South Korea, and was impressed by standards there. “Tall buildings were required to have proper fire exits, water sprinkler and smoke alarm systems , emergency lighting, extinguishers, special rope ladders and smoke masks kept in fire boxes so people could  escape through windows if  the need arose,” he says.

He decided to import and market some of the equipment that he’d seen in Korea. But local building owner were indifferent. “Most people I talked to weren’t aware of the potential risks they were taking and couldn’t see the need to spend money and effort on fire safety.”

So he abandoned the idea of marketing and decided to concentrate on education. Slowly, and painstakingly, he began a campaign of raising fire safety awareness. When he could, he also talked to staff to tell them of the need to safeguard themselves in their places of work.

Gradually, Kanathat developed a reputation as an expert and someone who could be trusted. Companies began employing him as a consultant to help plan and administer their fire safety programmes. His list of clients grew to include well known companies and institutions such as Thai Airways. The Ucom Group, The Shangri-la Hotel, The Regent Hotel, and

Krung Thai Bank.

But he still found it hard to reach most businesses and institutions. “Building owners and even the people who work or live in high-rise building may sit down and listen to my warning about  the risks of fire, yet won’t do anything to protect themselves,”

Kanathat believes this apathy is ingrained in the culture. “It’s our upbringing and schooling,” he says. “Ours is a paternalistic society – we’re used to having things done for us. At home ours parents spoon-feed us, at school our teachers do the same and as adults we expect our bosses or superiors to look after us. We were never taught to take the initiative even when it comes to our own personal safety.”

The reality, he says, is that fire safety begins and ends with ourselves. Nobody is going to look after our wellbeing if we don’t insist on our right to proper safety standards in buildings. It’s also up to be alert and to react promptly and responsibly in an emergency. But before people can be expected to do that- attitudes have to change.

To achieve that, Kanathat has decided to aim at the young. Last November he organized the first of series of safety training course for children aged 10 to 12. the course was advertised on radio and television and all to were interested were invited to join. Not surprisingly, only about 30 children signed up. Officially called the Yong fire-fighter’s project, the course was held over a weekend at Bangkok’s Town –in –Town Hotel which offered tree use of its premises.

With support from sponsors, the children were issued with fire-fighting outfit that included heat-protection jacket, fire-hat and boots, and were instructed by professional fire-fighters.

They were also taught about the nature of fires in different environments and how to properly react in a real emergency. Last but not least, they were given lessons in self-discipline and social responsibility.

“fire safety awareness doesn’t develop out of nothing. It is an aspect of a socially Responsible person. What we try to do is nurture individuals through our courses,” says Kanathat

Two further courses were held, which attracted the same numbers as the original project. Afterwards, the children were given certificates of participation and made members of the Fire and Rescue Association (FARA), a private body recently established by Kanathat.

“At each new course the children from previous courses were invited back as instructors, so their involvement is continuing.”

“What we’re doing is forming a brigade of young vigilante fire-fighters”

To date, FARA has 90  young fire-safety conscious members – a mere drop in the ocean. But drops cause ripples which may grow into waves and that’s what Kanathat is hoping for. He’s currently looking for more sponsors to shore up FARA and the Young Fire-fighters courses.

        If I can regional fire safety center which will disseminate information as well as provide specialized training for lay people as well as professional,” he says. But that’s his long-term ambition. For now, the self enlightened fire safety exert is willing to take it one plodding step at time in his Wellington boots.

Play it Safe

The design and maintenance of a building are obviously important

for its protection from fire. But you as an individual

can increase your chances of survival in an emergency if you’re prepared.

Expert Kanathat Chantrsiri offers the following advice to help you

if you caught in a building on fire:

1 Don’t wait for an emergency before thinking about you own safety. From minute your enter an unfamiliar building you should take the precaution of studying its layout, particularly noting where the fire escapes are. Looking  for fire alarm, extinguishers and any other emergency equipment that you could use. Work out how you can get to these.

2 Next you should plot the route of you escape in an emergency. Work out every step for your desk to the sidewalk outside the building, including how many doors you have to go through, whether those doors open towards or away from you and how many flights of stairs you have take to reach the ground floor. You should know your escape route well enough to take it in the dark. Also check for alternative routes in case your main route is blocked. Look for windows, balconies, staircases, any exit you cloud use. Never use a lift during in fire.

3 In an emergency, you should help sound the alarm if you can - so take note for where the fire alarm are especially. The  ones that have to be set off manually. But don’t risk your life to sound the alarm.

4 If a fire should brake out, walk out the building as quickly as you can. Never run as you may trip and injure yourself. Don’t carry anything unnecessary – this is not the time to think about saving your valuables.

5 Before entering a room or stairwell along you route, place your hand flat against the door - if the surface is hot, there’s probably a fire on the other side and you should take another route. In a pressurized safety stairwell, always shut the door behind you because leaving it open could cause the fire to spread through the stairwell.

6 If you have to pass through smoke-filled areas. Try and cover your mouth and nose with cloth to help keep smoke from entering your lungs. The majority of fire. Nowadays you can buy compact air masks that you can carry easily in your handbag or briefcase in fire emergencies. If you don’t have mask and the smoke gets too thick, crawl rather than walk through it, keeping your nose and mouth close to floor.

7 If the fire has trapped you in your room or office, try to keep smoke  from entering by sealing off the space under the door using towel or anything else at hand. Move to the nearest window or balcony and signal for help.

8 The biggest favour you can do yourself and other who many work or live in the same building is to insist the management maintains an adequate fire-prevention system. There should be a fire evacuation plan drawn up by the building operator and fire drills at last once a year but preferably more often.