Kader Toy Factory Fire

10 May 1993 Sam Phran District, Nakhon Pathom Province of Thailand

“WORST INDUSTRIAL FACTORY FIRE IN HISTORY”

Source:http://www.ilo.org/safework_bookshelf/english?content&nd=857170498

owned by the Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group

manufactured stuffed toys and licensed plastic dolls primarily intended for export

The E-shaped building was a four-storey structure composed of concrete slabs supported by a structural steel frame.

There were windows around the perimeter of each floor and the roof was a gently sloped, peaked arrangement.

Each portion of the building had a freight elevator and two stairwells that were each 1.5 metres (3.3 feet) wide. The freight elevators were caged assemblies.

Each building at the plant was equipped with a fire alarm system.

None of the buildings had automatic sprinklers, but portable extinguishers and hose stations were installed on outside walls and in the stairwells of each building.

None of the structural steel in the building was fireproofed.

There is conflicting information about the total number of workers at the site.

Most of the workers at the plant were women.

469 workers were taken to the hospital, where 20 died.

188 people were killed, and over 500 were seriously injured.

Determining the cause of this fire became a challenge because the portion of the facility in which it began was totally destroyed and the survivors have provided conflicting information. Since the fire started near a large electrical control panel, investigators first thought that problems with the electrical system might have been the cause. Arson was also considered. Thai authorities feel that a carelessly discarded cigarette may have been the source of ignition.

The Federation of Thai Industries had pledged to help 2,500 plant employees displaced by the fire.

The Kader fire has created a great deal of interest about the country's fire safety measures, particularly its building code design requirements and enforcement policies