A 45-year-old man was killed in fire that razed through a popular sauna in Sua Pa Plaza on Bangkok's Charoen Krung road in Pom Prab district.

Bangkok's The Nation newspaper reported that the victim - identified by the police as Sanguan Saenkaew - was found by rescue workers on the seventh floor of the building early Monday morning. He is believed to be a patron of GSM Sauna at the time of the fire. Reports say about 60 fire engines fought the blaze which took hours to put out.

The blaze was reported to have started at about 8.30pm on Sunday night. Some 100 people were evacuated from the nine-storey building via two firetruck ladders and a helicopter.

The sauna - said to be popular among locals and travelers from Hong Kong and Taiwan - also operated a massage parlour on the fourth floor and guesthouse on the sixth floor.

The incident follows a fire that killed at least 64 partygoers at Santika, an upscale Bangkok nightclub which was full to its 1,000-person capacity on New Year's Eve.

The country's building and fire code standards has been called into question as police revealed that Santika had been refused a licence as an "entertainment venue" since 2004 due to safety concerns but it remained legally open as a restaurant while appealing that decision. It has also emerged that the club had no emergency lighting or sprinkler system, had only one door for entry and exit known to patrons and there were bars on the windows.

A Singaporean, who was in the Thai capital over the New Year's Eve holidays and saw the fire engines on the streets, told Fridae that he shudders to consider a similar fate befalling Silom Soi 2 or 4 - well known clusters of crowded gay bars and clubs located on narrow dead-end lanes.

"It's the main reason why I never go to DJ Station anymore and haven't been for the last five years," said the 30-something businessman who prefers not to be named.

"Fire safety codes are evidently not enforced at many venues, including many clubs, bars and saunas frequented by the gay community. Patrons should exercise caution and voice their concerns to the staff and management of such establishments."

Another commented on a gay news list: "Fire safety and precautions in many of the 30 or so gay saunas in BKK are crappy. I even don't know how to get out of the darkroom in a fire."