Pub fire blamed on firework

       A police investigation has concluded the Santika pub fire was sparked by a firework that ignited a flammable ceiling.
       A firework was lit as part of stage effects shortly after the turn of the 2009 new year.
       The fire spread so quickly that within about two minutes the crowded pub was completely in flames, Metropolitan Police Bureau deputy chief Likit Klinauan yesterday said after a high-level police meeting to conclude the cause of the inferno.
       Pol Maj Gen Likit cited the explana-tion of an expert from the Royal Thai Army Chemical Department on how a firework works before a final conclusion was made.
       Witnesses at the pub said they saw Sarawut Ariya, lead singer of the band Burn, holding a firework on the stage before the fire erupted.
       "We will meet the team investigating the disaster again before forwarding our findings to the court by the end of the month," Pol Maj Gen Likit said.
       The tragedy left 66 people dead and scores of other revellers injured.