Sunday, February 10, 2013
Pyro Implicated in Brazil Nightclub Fire, 237 Reported Killed
PLSN: Authorities have detained four people in connection with a fire that ripped through the packed Kiss nightclub in this southern Brazil city in the early morning hours of Sunday, Jan. 27, killing 237. A small pyro display is being implicated as the cause. Early reports suggest that some kind of pyro device ignited foam sound insulation material on the ceiling, and that a crowd of college-aged revelers stampeded and were suffocated within minutes by the resulting smoke and fumes.
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6 comments:
This is such a tragic story, especially because it seems as though many of the deaths were preventable, just by being more careful of blocked exits. Pyro is such an exciting show stopper, but there clearly need to be more precautions taken when they are to be set off, mainly in a closed and packed space like a night club. I know that in theaters, because there are so many people in a closed space there are MANY RULES. These should be applied to non theatre venues as well
Well this is a incredibly sad and scary article. In theater we take such hudge precautions to insure the safety of the cast, crew and audience. Really world venues should take that same amount of care and precaution. If the walls of night clubs are highly flammable (not mention the flammable alcohol that is bound to be about) then there should be very strict rules about fire in night clubs or they should find a less dangerous insulation material. Also building like that should have more emergency exits. With so many people crammed into one building, of course a fire will cause a stampede. but there has to be a safer and more efficient way to get people out of the building because a 237 person death toll is just to high. Especially when this is not the fist time an incident like this has happened.
This is horrible. What are horrific events if we can't learn and improve from the mistakes that have been made. This fire shares the same cause as the 2003 RI fire - pyro igniting foam insulation. You can only create so many restrictions on pyro and have small club owners, or anyone, actually follow them.
However, the article mentions another problem of security guards blocking pathways. Were they keeping emergency responders out? Or keeping club goers in? Regardless, it's apparent that there are some communication issues. In an emergency, it's crucial that everyone in the area understands that there is an emergency and that evacuation is necessary.
And if you're in a club and there's pyro...maybe you should head out.
It seems as though when ever there is a catastrophe at a night club, almost every one ends up getting injured or dead. Im not quite sure why this is, maybe the inebriation or the packed crowds and stampeding people, but something should be done. To have 237 people killed is a huge number that should have been able to be prevented. However not only were the safety precautions bad, but this accident should have been able to have also been prevented. Anything involving fire or pyro should always be managed and controlled by trained professionals.
Now, this is the time to reflect and change. After I commented on another article about this incident last week, I realised how many clubs and bars I have been in at home and elsewhere where this same thing could have happened. 1 exit/entrance, small crowded places, use of effects, which I assumed had permits. Now older and wiser I know which events and places I won't place myself in. Nevertheless, patrons usually assume that the owners of the nightclub have their interest and safety at heart and wouldn't okay the use of pyro if it wasn't safe.
What annoyed me about last week's article is that the band members mentioned that they always use the pyro during their performances. That means that this would have happened in some other venue eventually. It is really sad that things like this have to happen for a change to occur (well hopefully it occurs). But now that it has happened they need to think of the most basic points such as: evacuation plan, appropriate emergency exits and adequate fire prevention systems and use of effects and licensing for Nightclubs to educate, owners, event planners/organisers.
I hate that the only thing that causes change is someone dying. Ariel is right about us being able to learn from previous mistakes. Fires like this have already happened. Why can't people see the tragedies that happen in other countries or that have happened in the past and change things then: before it actually happens to them. Its dumb. Why do we even study history if we are not going to learn from it?
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