Candy Vendor Defends Exit Route After Beer Hall Fire

On July 14, Ms. Pattama, a candy vendor at the Ladprao Beer Hall, described the moment of the fire. She was sitting near the restroom selling candy when she heard a sound like breaking glass, initially thinking it was a fight. When someone ran toward her shouting "Fire!" she rushed out through the back door immediately.

Ms. Pattama explained that the rear door near the restroom could be opened, though it was fitted with a simple padlock on the day of the fire—not a deadbolt—because the door handle was broken. The door was difficult to open and required a hard push, and was kept locked to control customer access through the front entrance, where ID checks and searches for prohibited items were conducted. During the fire, several people, including herself and the housekeeper, escaped through that back exit.

Regarding her candy sales table positioned near the restroom door—which had been questioned as potentially blocking the escape route—Ms. Pattama insisted the table did not obstruct the exit. The wooden red-and-black table, she noted, was movable and not permanently installed. Though the passage was narrow and could only accommodate one person at a time, the table did not block it, and multiple people successfully escaped using that route during the fire.

After exiting, she called the housekeeper and helped pull people trapped inside to safety. However, the fire spread rapidly, causing panic and disorientation among many people.

Ms. Pattama acknowledged she did not know the door was an official fire exit, only that it was an accessible exit. She reflected that better preparation might have saved more lives, but the fire developed too quickly to allow for any organized response. Upon returning to the shop today, she brought flowers to pay respects to the deceased—regular customers she had known and spoken with often.