What to know about the Bangkok bar fire that killed 27

The interior of a beer bar is seen after a fire in Bangkok, Thailand, yesterday [AP Photo]

Thai authorities are investigating a Bangkok bar fire that killed at least 27 people and injured dozens more, the latest in a long history of catastrophic fires at bars, clubs, and other nightlife venues worldwide.

Experts say the high death toll may reflect factors common to past entertainment venue fires, including inadequate safety measures. The blaze, which broke out shortly before midnight Sunday, apparently spread rapidly across a ceiling lined with flammable decorative materials before reaching the main entrance. Local media suggest crowded conditions, obstructed escape routes, and panic may have hampered evacuation.

Here’s what to know about the fire:

Investigators focus on how fire spread

Videos shared online by witnesses show a blaze engulfing the Na Ladprao music bar as thick black smoke pours from the front entrance and people scramble to flee. Photos and videos from the scene Monday showed Thai investigators examining the gutted building, where the heaviest damage appeared to be overhead. Large sections of the ceiling were destroyed, blackened and charred, while the floor and tables below, some still with beer bottles on them, were blanketed in ash and debris.

Thailand Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said a musician performing at the bar told him he saw smoke coming from a circuit breaker near the stage before the power went out. An explosion was then heard and thick smoke quickly filled the bar.

Thai officials said investigators would examine the ceiling materials and whether any emergency exits were obstructed, potentially hindering evacuation. A Google image from February shows what appeared to be plastic plants in the ceiling above the stage.

Lee Young Ju, a fire safety professor at South Korea’s Kyungil University, said the fire may have been caused by an electrical fault, possibly involving audio or lighting equipment or faulty wiring, sparking a blaze that quickly spread across the ceiling.

Aside from examining whether flammable materials were used in the interior and how electrical wiring was installed overhead, police are also investigating whether gas canisters were stored in the kitchen and whether they contributed to the blaze, Royal Thai Police chief Kittharath Punpetch said.

Huang Xinyan, a professor at Hong Kong’s Polytechnic University, said footage of the fire site suggests the bar contained combustible foam materials, lacked a sprinkler system and had small exits that may have hampered evacuation. He added that plastic decorations on the ceiling may have been combined with combustible foam soundproofing materials, potentially fueling the fire’s rapid spread.

While the bar may have fallen short of safety standards, Lee said it’s unclear whether sprinklers would have slowed the blaze if it spread across the ceiling, as they are not designed to extinguish fires burning overhead.

Why fires at entertainment venues are often deadly

The fire is the latest in a string of deadly blazes at entertainment venues around the world, a recurring type of disaster that has killed hundreds of people over the years. In the early hours of New Year›s Day, a fire tore through a bar in the Swiss ski resort town of Crans-Montana, killing about 40 people and injuring more than 100. A 2013 fire at the Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria, southern Brazil, killed more than 200.

Huang said the Bangkok fire may resemble the fire in Switzerland, noting that such venues tend to have large amounts of flammable soundproofing materials and overcrowded conditions which contribute to the high number of casualties.

Lee said the large fatalities in entertainment venue fires often stem from large crowds packed into relatively small spaces, making quick evacuation difficult. Such venues frequently lack sufficient exits, and most patrons are familiar only with the main entrance they used to enter, while loud music and alcohol can leave them less aware and slower to respond when an emergency strikes, he said.

Jiang Liming, another professor at Hong Kong’s Polytechnic University, noted that pubs typically lack large glass windows and the exits may be blocked by panicked people when there’s a fire.

“Once there was a rapidly growing fire, large (numbers) of casualties might occur due to high density of people and fast accumulation of smoke,” Jiang said.

Kong Ha-song, a disaster prevention professor at South Korea’s Woosuk University, said death tolls in bar and nightclub fires are often worsened because the venues can resemble a “maze,” with beer crates, tables and other obstacles blocking hallways and escape routes, while emergency exits are sometimes kept locked to prevent unauthorized entry or theft.

Kittharath, the Thai police chief, said the single-story bar had four exits, but police were examining whether the two rear exits were blocked or unusable. One exit near the restrooms, where most of the victims were found, had a table blocking the way, while another near the kitchen had a damaged exit sign and a sliding door missing its handle. KIM TONG-HYUNG & KANIS LEUNG, SEOUL, MDT/AP