An avoidable tragedy: Switzerland in shock after tragic bar fire
The upscale French-speaking Alpine resort of Crans-Montana is in mourning whilst leaving several unanswered questions as to how the catastrophic fire which claimed the lives of 40 people and left 119 others seriously injured, began. Le Constellation, a two-storey bar with a glass-enclosed terrace, was packed with partygoers, many of them teenagers.
Fire safety experts said the early evidence points to a familiar scenario: blazes ignited by indoor fireworks and other pyrotechnics that have claimed hundreds of lives at bars and nightclubs.
Witnesses reported seeing a staff member, who was sitting on the shoulders of a colleague, carrying bottles with fizzing candle-style sparklers in the basement section shortly before the ceiling caught fire. Initial investigations suggest the blaze started when the so-called fountain candles attached to champagne bottles got too close to the ceiling.
Questions have also arisen about a foam material that may have been used to soundproof the ceiling of the basement where revelers danced to rap music. Investigators are now assessing whether insulation materials accelerated the fire’s spread through the venue, and if the believed foam cladding on the ceiling was legal.
The investigation will focus on renovations that were made to the bar and the materials used, the fire extinguishing systems and escape routes. They will also examining whether revellers were crushed while trying to flee the building, if an emergency exit was blocked and whether too many people were in the building when the blaze started.
Overall; did lax oversight set the stage for the disaster? Those include a basement ceiling covered in flammable foam, the indoor use of firework sparklers and a lack of accessible emergency exits that turned a narrow staircase into a choke point – least of all the failure by the local authorities to carry out yearly safety inspections between 2020 and 2025 at the bar in the Swiss Alps.
One person familiar with the establishment, who asked not to be identified, said a water sprinkler system was installed by the previous owner. Whether such a system was operating the night of the fire needs to be determined. At least one witness said she saw no sign of one as she fled the building.
"Nightclubs are not fire-safety friendly places," said Milad Haghani, associate professor of urban resilience and mobility at the University of Melbourne. He noted the danger of flammable soundproofing insulation, commonly found in such disasters.
When flammable surfaces ignite in confined spaces, a so-called "flashover" can occur, where nearly everything in a room explodes into flames at once.
"The fire will look for oxygen in order to grow; that's its physical mechanism," said Olivier Burnier, a partner in Swiss fire safety consultancy Fire Safety & Engineering SA. "That's why we had what people described as an explosion."
Moral of the story is still stop using pyrotechnics inside with flammable wall and ceiling coverings and have multiple emergency exits with properly working hardware and outward swinging doors. Novelty without guardrails can come at a heavy price!
Source: External
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