A 58-year-old man died and fourteen other people were injured when the fire broke out on the 16th floor of a high-rise condominium in Bangkok Noi district yesterday.
Suriyachai Rawiwan, director of the Bangkok Fire and Rescue Department, said that an initial investigation has revealed that the water sprinklers failed to activate, although the fire alarm system functioned properly.
The blaze broke out at around 1.15pm in room 171/102 of the 38-storey residential rental condominium, completely destroying the unit.
The flames then spread to adjacent units, damaging doors. Two rooms on the 17th floor also sustained damage, primarily to their balcony doors.
To extinguish the blaze, firefighters used an aerial ladder truck to reach the 16th floor.
Suriyachai said the cause of the fire remains unknown, as the room where it started was completely gutted.
At the time of the fire, approximately 1,000 residents were in the building and were evacuated safely to the ground floor.
