PATTAYA - A hotel damaged by fire was ordered closed by Pattaya City on Friday for safety pending a comprehensive check by engineers for any damage to the structure.
Marut Uthaiwatthananon, acting chief of Pattaya's Building Control Office, said the Sunday JA Plus Hotel building that experienced a fire on its rooftop on Thursday night needed to be temporarily closed for thorough inspections as it could have been impacted by the blaze. The city administration was also waiting for the building owner to submit a report explaining the cause of the fire, the chief said.
The fire at the eight-storey hotel on North Pattaya 3 Road started around 9pm and took 90 minutes to put out. It started on the top floor where a swimming pool and a rooftop bar are situated.
Mr Marut said an initial inspection found the top area burnt but the overall building structure unaffected. The building will be allowed to reopen after it is declared safe for usage, the official added.
About 120 rooms of the hotel's 173 rooms were occupied when the fire started. All guests were transferred to three hotels - Wongamat Privacy Resort & Residence, Chateau En Ville Pattaya and Hul Fresco Hotel Pattaya.
The fire injured four people, one of them an Indonesian boy and another a Thai man who was seriously hurt by the flames.
Fire debris is spread onto the swimming pool and floor of the rooftop where the fire took place. (Photo: Amporn Sangkaew)
