Band Singer Recalls Five-Second Escape From Deadly Fire
A band singer narrowly escaped a deadly fire at a venue on July 13 by using a bathroom exit, surviving what would have been a fatal five-second delay, and later revealed the venue had blocked fire exits with vendor tables and had chronic el
On July 13, Nonchai Thongpraserit, male vocalist of the Thakaran band performing that night, recounted his escape from the fire that broke out in the upper right area behind the stage. The guitarist and keyboardist who died were the first to spot thick smoke billowing up and shouted warnings for everyone to flee. Another vocalist on stage then shouted for customers and staff to run for their lives as smoke thickened and flames spread rapidly.
Nonchai survived because he happened to be in the bathroom near the fire exit. Had he spent just five more seconds inside, he would certainly have died. The fire exit near the bathroom was blocked by tables and chairs belonging to a vendor, creating a bottleneck. Only three to four people had escaped before him when an elderly vendor in front of him collapsed, blocking the way. He had to kick the vendor and the fallen chair aside to escape. As he fled through the door, thick black smoke surged out after him, and no one else could follow. Only four to five more people crawled on their knees to escape.
Nonchai also revealed that multiple explosions occurred near the kitchen after he escaped, sending flames bursting through every back door. The blast force hit the sound engineer's back as he was the last person trying to escape through the rear door—a fire exit that only the singers and waitstaff knew about.
Regarding the venue's safety issues, Nonchai noted that when the band first started performing, musicians used the bathroom back door as a shortcut to dress without walking through the kitchen. But later the venue strictly prohibited this access and allowed the vendor to set up tables and chairs blocking the way. He also identified electrical system problems, as the venue typically scheduled his band on Fridays when it was crowded and air conditioning ran at full capacity, causing regular power outages during performances.
Nonchai acknowledged feeling responsible for the tragedy, saying he told another female singer Brees that she was no longer breathing. He tried to help perform CPR and resuscitate victims alongside rescue workers, and at first the victim's pulse seemed to return with movement toward the front, but ultimately doctors and rescuers could not save her. When he saw the victim's body covered with white cloth before his eyes, he was devastated.
