10 fire-fighters injured in warehouse collapse
Ten firemen were injured in Bangkok's Sathon district yesterday when the warehouse in which they were tackling a large fire collapsed on top of them.
The collapse was caused by cracks in the building and the excess strain on the structure created by the weight of water used to fight the fire. The estimated damage to the warehouse, which belongs to a brother of former Chat Thai Party deputy leader Chuwit Kamolvisit, is about Bt10 million. The fire is thought to have originated in an elevator after a suspected electrical short circuit. A guard said he tried to put out the fire using an extinguisher but failed to control it. The fire-damaged building has been declared a hazardous area while city officials investigate whether the building's construction and renovation were fully approved. Badee Raksart, one of the firemen tackling the blaze, said he had to escape from the building by climbing down a fire hose after hearing several loud bangs - an indication of excessive structural damage. Most of the firemen were ordered out of the building after severe cracks began to appear about four hours after the fire started at about 7.20am. Thawee Laesamran, another fireman who was injured when he jumped from the building as it collapsed, thanked his training and previous experience as a fire-fighter for his survival. "I panicked on first hearing the loud bangs, then I thought back to our fire drills, and followed what I had been taught," he said.
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