Dousing the flames

By Suchada Tupchai

The fire at Route 999 on May 7 killed eight people, injured at least 50 others, and sent a 40 million baht investment up in smoke. The damage it caused to the image of Pattaya cannot be calculated. Once again the city appears lax in the standards of safety for visitors. Of course, there is a tremendous scurrying amongst the departments concerned to see if Route 999 did contravene the safety regulations. In this particular instance it is rather too late, of course, but there are many, many similar venues in Pattaya City and to think that all of them religiously follow the building rules would be naive. If nothing is done now, then at some point in the future, maybe this year, maybe next, maybe the year after, there will be another horrible fire with many lives lost and once again Pattaya City will be revealed as a destination that doesn’t really care too much about the lives of its visitors.
Where exactly does the problem lie? It would be unwise to lay the blame at any one particular door, but let us conjecture that officials often do not see what they are supposed to see. They don’t see if proper safety systems are installed, they don’t see if structures are changed illegally beyond the bounds of the permit issued, they don’t see if inappropriate building materials are used, they don’t see if emergency doors are blocked or locked. We don’t know the reasons for this strange and potentially dangerous form of myopia, but it certainly needs to be treated.
There now needs to be a massive enforcing of safety regulations and standards. There can be no excuse for not doing so. No pleadings for overworked officials or lack of police manpower. No owners wriggling away from responsibilities. No contractors making a few baht on the side by installing cheaper materials that may prove to be fuel for fire at a later date. And no backsliding, because this should not be swept under the proverbial carpet in the time-honored fashion. Lives are at stake here, as is the overseas image of Pattaya. Anyone who is inclined to think that news like this doesn’t travel very far should take a little time to read the news accounts and the bulletin boards on the internet.
All entertainment establishments need to be checked. Where they are found to be lacking, they should be given a very limited amount of time to put their house in order. If they don’t do so, their license should be revoked. The knowledge that he is going to lose his business concentrates an owner’s mind wonderfully.
The power is there for the authorities to do all this. But is the willpower there? That is a different matter. But it has to be. Otherwise there will be another fire. And another. And another.