View Full Version : CyberWorld Towering Inferno:'Slight' damage
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2008/01/09/p1news/images/30061643-01.jpg
[Photo: The Nation (http://www.nationmultimedia.com/index.php) - Fire engulfs a high rise building; Cyber World, which was under construction on Ratchadapisek Road on early Wednesday night. Firefighters spent about an hour to extinguish the blaze.//Kanongdet Sukakit.]
http://www.2bangkok.com is hoping to post some frontpage pictures of the afermath of this huge blaze later on today. Unfortunately, our local photographer was asleep at the time of the blaze (I was rather surprised to find that he ever sleeps! ;) ) That said, I suspect daytime shots of the aftermath are likely to be just as interesting as the night-time shot on The Nation (http://www.nationmultimedia.com/index.php) frontpage.And I doubt whether the Bangkok papers will bother very much with aftermath pictures.
Of extreme significance is the fact that this building was in the process of being clad by construction workers. There is some evidence that a lot of the damage to the building was sustained in the cladding. One truly wonders whether there are any local regulations on the flammability of cladding materials for such buildings. Or whether they are often ignored or not inspected properly! Only one side of the building was seen to be damaged by the blaze, but I suppose it could have also jeopardized the entire building's structural integrity nonetheless!:
Fire breaks out at 52-storey building in Ratchada
A fire broke out at 52-floor Cyber World Building on Ratchada Pisek Road early Wednesday, causing heavy traffic congestion in the area.
Police said the fire broke out on the 17th floor at 3 am and quickly spread to higher floors.
Fire engines took about an hour to control the blaze. Fire fighters could enter the building at about 4 am.
Police closed the section of the road from Rama IX Intersection to Huay Kwang Intersection, leading to traffic snarls in the area. The road was opened at about 6 am to try to alleviate the congestion.
Deputy Bangkok Governor Wallop Suwandee said the building was under construction so there was no one inside when the fire started.
The building is owned by TTC group.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30061642
Huge Ratchada fire
A spectacular blaze broke out this morning and enveloped the old Tokyu Department Store and the entire, unfinished 30-storey adjacent skyscraper at Ratchadaphisek. No casualties were reported.
Flames leapt more than 100 metres into the sky as the fire consumed the skyscraper, which dominates the area skyline.
It was unoccupied, after being abandoned at the halfway point by construction teams in 2002.
The old Tokyu Department Store building at the foot of the tower also burst into flames after the fire started, reportedly on the 17th floor and therefore out of the reach of the fire trucks that responded.
The fire started just before dawn, just as the morning rush hour started. The Ratchadaphisek Road intersection is a major commuter route.
The identity of the current owner and management of the complex were not immediately available.
But newspaper reports from 1998 said the Ratchada Square complex was held and managed by State Man Co Ltd, a firm close to Santi Prompattana, a well-known politician.
By coincidence, the site of the fire is virtually adjacent to land at the centre of criminal charges against Khunying Potjaman, wife of ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who returned to Thailand to hear the charges less than a day before the fire.
Fires in abandoned businesses in Bangkok often are believed to be arson, committed for insurance reasons. Forensic detectives likely will closely investigate this fire for any signs of arson.
Link may expire:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/topstories/topstories.php?id=124969
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2008/01/09/p1news/images/30061643-01.jpg
[Photo: The Nation (http://www.nationmultimedia.com/index.php) - Fire engulfs a high rise building; Cyber World, which was under construction on Ratchadapisek Road on early Wednesday night. Firefighters spent about an hour to extinguish the blaze.//Kanongdet Sukakit.]
http://www.2bangkok.com is hoping to post some frontpage pictures of the afermath of this huge blaze later on today. Unfortunately, our local photographer was asleep at the time of the blaze (I was rather surprised to find that he ever sleeps! ;) ) That said, I suspect daytime shots of the aftermath are likely to be just as interesting as the night-time shot on The Nation (http://www.nationmultimedia.com/index.php) frontpage.And I doubt whether the Bangkok papers will bother very much with aftermath pictures.
Of extreme significance is the fact that this building was in the process of being clad by construction workers. There is some evidence that a lot of the damage to the building was sustained in the cladding. One truly wonders whether there are any local regulations on the flammability of cladding materials for such buildings. Or whether they are often ignored or not inspected properly! Only one side of the building was seen to be damaged by the blaze, but I suppose it could have also jeopardized the entire building's structural integrity nonetheless!:
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30061642
Link may expire:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/topstories/topstories.php?id=124969
Ratchada fire area declared danger zone
(BangkokPost.com) – Bangkok governor Apirak Kosayodhin has inspected the scene of the blaze at Cyber World Tower on Ratchadaphisek Road which went up in flames in the early hours of this morning after the fire from the old Tokyu Department store spread to adjacent buildings.
Mr Apirak had held talks with architects and town planners and urged them to assess the building’s safety following fears the fire could have caused the building’s structure to become unstable and possibly collapse.
“For now, this area will be declared a danger zone at least for the next 30 days,” he said. “In the meantime, we will continue to make plans for how best to clean up the rubble.”
As for the origin of the flames, the Bangkok governor said initial findings pointed to floors 8-10 of the B buidling as being possible locations.
Investigators are still determining the cause of the blaze.
Link may expire:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=124978
The cladding contained a great deal of plastic and foil. One wonders if the architect opted for a cheaper grade of cladding with less fire resistance to save costs on a project that had already been on stop for 5 years:
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2008/01/09/p1news/images/30061643-01.jpg
[Photo: The Nation - Fire engulfs a high rise building; Cyber World, which was under construction on Ratchadapisek Road on early Wednesday night. Firefighters spent about an hour to extinguish the blaze.//Kanongdet Sukakit.]
09 January 2008
Authorities investigate fire at Tokyu
Deputy Governor of Bangkok Wallop Suwandee (วัลลภ สุวรรณดี) revealed that a fire broke out at the original Tokyu building located across from Robinson Department Store RatcPRD reportshadapisek. The building was being renovated after being abandoned for many years. Tokyu use to be a vibrant department store and office building.
The fire began at 4 AM this morning and was subdued at 6 AM. Renovations left large amounts of flammable objects in the building causing the blaze to spread quickly through the structure and fueled the flames as fire fighters sprayed water. The fire temporarily impaired traffic on the road.
Authorities are investigating the cause of the fire but initial theories attribute the flames to standard hazards in the construction area. City officials are also inspecting the building’s damage to deem if it is still safe.
http://thainews.prd.go.th/newsenglish/previewnews.php?news_id=255101090004
09 January 2008
BMA deems Tokyu hazard zone
Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) Governor Apirak Kosayothin revealed that authorities have inspected the Tokyu building which recently experienced a fire. The 53 story building was swamped with damage from its 10th to 52nd floor.
Cleaning crews have been sent into the building and around the area to clear debris which has endangered citizens. Plates of glass that fell from the building devastated a car show room that was next to the once department store. Earlier, enough debris had been cleared to allow traffic to continue on Ratchadapisek road.
Authorities have now reported though that the building has received extensive damage and have deemed the structure a hazard zone. Traffic immediately surrounding the building has been detoured.
Reporter : RTI-Reporter01
http://thainews.prd.go.th/newsenglish/previewnews.php?news_id=255101090005
Pics (night & day) at Skyscrapercity (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=247215&page=17)
Via Pantip:
http://www.pantip.com/cafe/chalermthai/topic/A6213751/A6213751-23.jpg
CYBER WORLD TOWER
High-rise blocks declared 'off limits' after big blaze
Published on January 10, 2008
Two high-rise buildings on Ratchadaphisek Road have been declared "danger zones", following the fire yesterday that caused the preliminary damage of Bt100 million.
The flames were fuelled by plastic and paper around the buildings, which were being renovated.
The cost of the Cyber World Tower fire has been estimated at about Bt100 million. However, insurers said yesterday it was too early to make an accurate calculation. The main insurer of the two buildings is South East Insurance.
Complex owner TCC Land insured the building for a total of Bt3.1 billion during construction, and Bt2.48 billion of that was carried by South East, company insurance vice president Lertchai Prapasirirat said. The main re-insurer is Swiss Re. According to the Office of the Insurance Commission, Indara Insurance carried the extra Bt622 million of Cyber World Tower's current insurance.
Thai Charoen Commercial Group owns both South East and TCC Land. It is in the business empire of liquor tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi.
Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has declared the buildings "off limits" for 30 days. Only authorised officials such as police officers from the Scientific Crime Detection Division and engineers from the BMA Public Works Department will be allowed access.
Police are investigating the cause of the fire, and engineers will have to decide whether the buildings will be safe for future use.
One of the blocks, Building A, is 51 storeys high, while the other, Building B, is 47 storeys.
"Should the buildings be declared safe, the owner must put greater emphasis on safety improvements during the renovations bearing in mind the safety of the general public passing by," Huai Khwang district office director Pavinee Armarttat said yesterday.
The road on which the buildings are located leads to the Thailand Cultural Centre.
During the fire, glass and pieces of material fell on nearby buildings and vehicles, damaging them.
BD Auto Company reported that falling material damaged 10 of its luxury cars, including BMWs and Jaguars.
Pavinee said part of one of the buildings was once a department store. However, due to economic problems, the store closed down and the two buildings changed hands a number of times.
The current owner is the TCC Land Group.
Last year, the group hired Ritta Company to renovate the buildings as part of a plan to create Cyber World Tower, which was due to open last month. However, renovation work had not been completed at the time the fire broke out yesterday.
Police have already questioned the company's engineer, Thammanan Chanapai, who first saw flames on the 15th floor of Building B shortly after 3 am.
"I had been working on documents on the sixth floor, because we were going to hand over the completed renovations to the customer next Tuesday," Thammanan was quoted by police as saying.
"Around 3 am, I felt too sleepy and decided to go home. On my way back to my car, I saw the flames and alerted security guards and also called the police."
Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin, said around 50 fire-fighters were dispatched to scene.
"Anyone affected by the fire can lodge a complaint with the director of the Huai Khwang District Office," he said.
Bangkok Mass Transit Authority driver Manoon Charoonpradone complained to police that some valuables went missing from his house after he and his family ran for their lives when they saw the towers were on fire nearby.
"We forgot to lock our door when we ran out. When we returned, my wallet, some cash, wristwatch, clothes and documents were gone," he said.
Manoon said his neighbours also had valuables stolen.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2008/01/10/headlines/headlines_30061754.php
Wow! The sprinkler system and security system works, but the cladding goes up like a tinderbox. :D Firedoors are supposed to maintain their integrity for up to one hour if properly fitted. There are probably supposed to be similar standards for cladding materials at a rough guess:
Minor damage at Cyber World
A fire yesterday morning at Cyber World Tower on Ratchadaphisek Road is expected to slightly delay its opening but physical damage was marginal, according to the owners.
The damage and cause are currently being investigated by the Office of Police Forensic Science and civil engineers from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), said an executive with T.C.C. Land Development Co, a subsidiary of T.C.C. Land controlled by tycoon Chadhroen Sirivadhanabhakdi.
''We have to wait for a summary and damage estimate and to determine the cause of the fire and measures to prevent a possible accident in the future,'' said the executive, who asked not to be named.
The building is currently the responsibility of the contractor, Ritta Construction, and is scheduled to be delivered to the company by mid-January. However, the opening, scheduled for midyear, will likely be delayed.
The executive said the fire damaged foil covering the aluminium sheeting on the building's exterior, as well as damaging some sheeting and windows, but there was no damage to the interior or any structure.
The building's security system and sprinklers functioned properly and the blaze was extinguished after 30 minutes with no injuries.
The building is insured for six billion baht by South East Insurance, another TCC Group subsidiary. The site has two buildings with 52 and 47 storeys and a total of 200,000 square metres with usable area of around 90,000 sq m.
Caroline Murphy, head of markets with Jones Lange LaSalle, the co-leasing management firm for the building, said the two towers had 61,000 sq m of office space, almost 14,000 sq m of retail spaces and 4,500 sq m for a food court.
The building is owned by Best Fortune Property and Loan Fund. It should be delivered to the owner next Tuesday, after which tenants can begin to decorate their rental spaces.
Ms Murphy said preliminary discussions with the building owner indicated that the retail space podium, situated from the basement to the fifth floor, was unlikely to be damages but the conclusion would depend on the BMA investigation.
She said many tenants were in the process of signing agreements as the building was located on a convenient transport route, close to an underground station. As well, she said, the rental rates, at 580 to 600 baht per sq m per month for office space, were lower than for offices in the central business district.
Link may expire:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/100108_Business/10Jan2008_bus18.php
Blaze fires up houseowners
Published on January 11, 2008
More than 10 people lodged complaints yesterday with the Huai Kwang police that falling debris from two high-rise buildings that caught fire early on Wednesday had damaged their houses.
Pieces of material, mostly glass, rained down from the buildings after the fire broke out.
"Minor damage to the houses was reported but the complainants are worried that when repair work is undertaken on the building to completely remove the damaged glass windows, more debris would fall on their homes," the station's deputy superintendent, Lt-Col Yingyos Intaburan, said yesterday.
He said the authorities would have plan carefully for the repairs.
The two buildings are located on the Ratchadaphisek Road, which leads to the Thailand Cultural Centre. Aside from the fact that there are many houses and offices nearby, a large number of vehicles travel along the road during the day.
Scientific Crime Detection Division deputy superintendent Colonel Surachai Watcharayothin ruled out an arson attack as the cause of the fire. "We believe the fire might have started from a short-circuit or a lit cigarette stub," he said.
Electrical appliances at the scene will be sent to laboratories for further checks in a bid to identify the exact cause.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2008/01/11/national/national_30061877.php
Wow! The sprinkler system and security system works, but the cladding goes up like a tinderbox. :D Firedoors are supposed to maintain their integrity for up to one hour if properly fitted. There are probably supposed to be similar standards for cladding materials at a rough guess:
Link may expire:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/100108_Business/10Jan2008_bus18.php
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2008/01/11/national/national_30061877.php
If you want to try and discuss this issue with locals, the local term is more usually 'Feng Jui' rather than the flat-out Chinese 'Feng-Shui':
WATCHDOG
'Fengshui': it's all about location and logical planning
Published on January 13, 2008
Panupong Panvichartkul, one of Thailand's experts on the Oriental art of fengshui, told me the other day that business executives should not ignore the ancient principles of "the way of wind and water" or fengshui when doing business.
The latest case in point is the Cyber World Tower on Ratchadaphisek Road, one of Bangkok's new business and entertainment districts.
Construction and decoration of the twin towers, 47 and 43 stories respectively, were near completion and a soft opening was planned for March this year. But a fire broke out last Wednesday morning, engulfing large sections of the towers. An initial police investigation suggested that it was an accident.
Situated right at the corner of Tiem Ruammit Road on a junction joining the busy Ratchadaphisek Road near Huai Khwang, the site was formerly owned by the Sri Vara Real Estate group, which planned to build its Sri Vara High-Tech Tower there in the 1990s.
Begun at the height of the 1997 economic and financial crisis, the project ran into trouble and later resulted in a non-performing loan, taken over by the state's asset-management company.
In 2002, the project was purchased by Montri Danpaibul, a former MP, in an auction and renamed Ratchada Square Tower. A few years later, the property was sold to Tippattna Arcade, a unit of TCC Capital Land controlled by liquor tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, which planned to continue construction of the unfinished twin office towers.
In June 2006, the new owner signed a Bt4-billion contract hiring Rue-tha to finish the construction work. The project was due to be completed by the end of 2007.
For Panupong, the geomancy of this place is rather unfavourable as it is situated right on one of the large turnoffs next to the T-shaped junction joining Ratchadaphisek Road.
"The way of wind and water, which governs the flow of energy, is not good and that means it's not good for business. On the other hand, business premises situated on the opposite side, such as Robinson department store and Carrefour hypermarket, have been doing quite well over the past years.
"According to the art of fengshui, evil forces hit premises on that turnoff. A good example is that, about two decades ago, business premises in Bangkok's Phra Khanong/Klong Ton area used to be doing good business but the fortunes shifted when the fly-over bridge was built along New Phetchaburi Road crossing the Klong Ton intersection.
"When such a large bridge cuts across the area, it's like a big structure being dropped into the river where the flow of energy is abruptly disrupted. In other words, we could say that the original road was like a prosperous river but all of a sudden its flow was cut into two halves. The consequence was that all business premises on the river banks were badly damaged. Today, business in that area is not as brisk as it used to be.
"In fact, it's rather difficult to improve the geomancy when business premises or residences are built next to large turnoffs on T-shaped junctions like the one on Ratchadaphisek Road. For example, if your house is right on a T junction, your place could be hit by a careless driver or the place would be dusty most of the time to due lots of traffic. Or the site could be easily expropriated for road expansion etc.
"The logic is just that simple. The location is basically bad for your mental and physical health," Panupong said.
Developed 4,000 to 5,000 years ago in China, fengshui might have derived from survival instincts and common sense, as ancient people studied the formations of the land and the ways of the wind and water to determine the best location for survival.
According to Panupong, the placement and layout of physical objects in our environment has an impact on the flow of energy in our lives, but many people are unaware of fengshui principles.
In short, fengshui and related disciplines help you manage and arrange the environment to suit your best interests.
As for the troubled Cyber World complex, the fengshui master recommended that new entrances be built on the sides of the complex to counter the weakness of its location.
Nophakhun Limsamarnphun
nop1122@yahoo.com
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2008/01/13/opinion/opinion_30062059.php
17 January 2008
Public Works department ask that Ratchada Tower owners submit repair plan within 30 days
The Public Works Office has asked that those responsible for the care and renovation of the Ratchada Towers, which recently experienced a fire submit their plans for repair within 30 days.
The Ratchada Towers, also known as Cyber World, which comprises a 51 story building and a 47 story building recently experienced a fire on the 9th of January and sustained damage to the 10th floor and main lobby of both buildings as the blaze traveled along the rear side of the building. The Public Works Office has made a preliminary inspection of the two structures and stated that they pose no major danger as damage in the buildings was superficial.
Nonetheless, the office has requested that owners of the towers submit a repair plan within the coming 30 days that contains a detailed plan for public safety. The office has expressed concerned for surrounding buildings and passers by as the towers are located in a busy area of the city.
Reporter : RTI-Reporter01
http://thainews.prd.go.th/newsenglish/previewnews.php?news_id=255101170013
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