Regulations drive Southeast Asia’s fire market

Southeast Asia’s fire safety industry is a growing sector, driven not only by economic growth but also by more stringent regulations, said Warodom Sucharitakul, MD at Shinaracha Frotector, a Thailand-based fire consulting firm.

Laws have been made to make sure that buildings are protected by fire safety equipment, and this has become a rising trend not only in Thailand but also in Southeast Asia as people attach more importance to safety, he said.

According to him, there wasn’t any law concerning fire inspection in Thailand before, and as a result many fire-related disasters took place. Now, fire inspection laws are in place to prevent more accidents from happening, he said.

Thailand’s building code also includes many sections covering fire protection. “Fire safety systems are required in buildings higher than 23 meters or bigger than 10,000 square meters. There are also requirements that maintenance programs for fire safety systems be done in factories,” he said.

For many large-scale contracts, fire safety equipment certified by international bodies must be included, he said. Thailand’s airports, for example, use products that are certified by UL and FM.

“The world has changed, and disasters happen a lot. I think safety products have become paramount to people who want to protect their lives,” Sucharitakul said. “And in Thailand, we have a robust tourism industry, and people from abroad expect safety too.”

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