Dear Editor;
On July 11, 1997 I witnessed a fire at Royal Jomtien Resort Hotel that claimed 99 lives. The main reason for the deaths was because fire exits were locked so that people could not escape without paying their bills. I just stayed at a hotel on Soi 9 near the police station that padlocked their fire exits also. Why doesn’t Pattaya have someone to check fire exits? I have also noticed inoperable fire alarms and missing fire extinguishers. Do they hide the extinguishers so no one will steal them? This is a shame.
G. Schlotter,
Fire Chief, Ret.
