Dorm fire victims’ kin to sue

Parents of the schoolgirls who were killed in a horrific fire that gutted their dormitory in Chiang Rai last year have sued the school owner even though authorities wrapped up the case and implicated nobody.

The victims’ families, now being helped by legal experts from social advocacy groups, yesterday asked Chiang Rai Provincial Court to consider the tragedy they believe resulted from the allegedly careless act of the owner, Phanthakit Suksan Foundation, which led the death of 17 girls on May 22.

Earlier, police and prosecutors concluded the fire, which ravaged the twostorey female dormitory of Pitakkiat Wittaya School in Wiang Pa Pao district, was an accident and they could find no evidence against wrongdoers.

However, this lawsuit will focus on the building which allegedly “lacked adequate safety features,” said Phurit Luchai, a legal expert from the Kanung Luchai Foundation.

According to initial evidence and witnesses’ accounts, the dormitory had only one staircase and no fire escape. It did not have emergency lights and windows were covered by iron bars.

These were obstructions to the girls’ escape, Mr Phurit claimed.

The fire broke out about 11pm on the first floor while the girls were alseep on the second floor. Many of them could not escape as the flames devoured the building.

Nineteen girls, including five injured students and one teacher, struggled to escape the fire by clambering down through a window.

Currently two parents have jointly filed the lawsuit.

Two others are still consulting legal experts on as they are not confident they can sue the foundation which gave them financial aid after the tragedy, said Somchat Phiphatthanadon, a legal expert from the Mirror Foundation.