Deadly Pyrotechnics

"A problem in Brazil is that there is no control of how many people are admitted in a building. They never are clearly stated, and nobody controls how many people enter these night clubs."
Joao Daniel Nunes, civil engineer, Porto Alegre

In this photo released by Agencia Brasil, people gather outside the Kiss nightclub as firefighters respond to a fire inside the club in Santa Maria, Brazil, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. A fast-moving fire roared through the crowded, windowless Kiss nightclub in this southern Brazilian city early Sunday, killing more than 230 people. Many of the victims were under 20 years old, including some minors. (AP Photo/Deivid Dutra, Agencia Brasil)

The mayor of the city where the Kiss nightclub fire took 231 young lives informed Radio Gaucha that he, Jose Fortunati, knew of dozens of night spots that had been closed in the last year alone for their failure to meet norms. "At that time, we had lots of protest from those who frequented them, but I think that today people understand it better and that at times hard stands must be taken so that steps are taken to not put people's lives at risk."

Boastfully claiming that as mayor he has seen to it that clubs failing to respect safety and security guidelines are closed down, despite protests from those who frequent them, does not quite jive with the dreadful occurrence of a fire consuming a nightclub that had a single entrance and exit, no working fire extinguishers, no ceiling-mounted extinguishers nor fire alarms. Clearly, due diligence with regular inspections do not take place.

It has been reported that the establishment was not even in possession of a legal license to sell alcohol. Yet the sale of alcohol spells the financial success of the business. And the sale of alcohol among the two thousand young people - university students from the university town that Santa Maria represents - was responsible for personnel employed at the nightclub forcefully detaining young people desperate to escape the inferno, for not having paid their bar bills.

Why would it, to begin with, be legal for a band to use pyrotechnics within a confined area? Why was it possible that two thousand young people were crammed into this night spot? It is a proven formula for disaster. Other similar venues in other countries of the world have experienced their own tragic losses brought about by the use of fireworks to enliven live band performances, creating tragedies in the process.

Police Inspector Ranolfo Vieira Junior reported the arrest of four persons of interest one of whom the Brazilian newspaper Zero Hors has identified as Elissandro Sphor, a co-owner of the club, along with another co-owner. One of whom verified that the club's operating license had not been legally renewed.

There are over one hundred people still in hospital being treated for smoke inhalation, some of them in critical condition. The death toll, warns the national health minister, may yet rise dramatically, since 75 of those injured were in such critical condition they may not recover.