Burning Down the House

Last night 61 people died in an upscale dance club in Bangkok. It was certainly tragic, although I wonder if it could have been somewhat avoided.

A few years back there was a fire in a Thai hotel that claimed the lives of many guests. A disproportionate number of Western guests were able to survive that fire by taking basic precautions such as putting wet towels under doors to reduce smoke. I must have been visiting Thailand at the time, because I remember reading the Bangkok Post and that some Thai's were amazed that the Western guests knew to take such measures. It really is a different world here.