Fire safety in nightclubs – an unsolved issue

More than one year after the tragic fire at Colectiv, a new fire broke out at a Bucharest nightclub.

România Internațional, 23.01.2017, 13:00

More than one
year after the fire at a nightclub in Bucharest that killed 64 people, wounded
over a hundred and sent shockwaves through Romanian society, a new tragedy was short of
happening. On January 21, a fire razed to the ground one of Bucharest’s most
popular nightclubs, Bamboo. Fortunately there were no victims. Still, 44 people
received medical assistance for toxic fume poisoning, hypothermia and bone
fractures, although no patient sustained any major burns. The list of wounded
includes foreign nationals, mostly from Israel.

Several
eyewitnesses say they managed to get out of the club, some by jumping over a
two-metre-high fence, while others by jumping straight into the nearby lake.
Over 260 fire fighters struggled to contain the fire for a few hours. The
authorities have opened a criminal investigation for aggravated destruction of
property and are trying to ascertain what started the fire. An on-scene inquiry
is underway while police officers are still getting statements. Representatives
of local authorities have said that the club owners had neither a functioning
permit nor a fire safety certificate, and had been fined several times for
failure to observe the relevant legislation in force.

After this new
fire the authorities have launched a new series of inspections in clubs, both
in the capital-city and nationwide. Inspectors have reported several
irregularities and handed out fines. The Bamboo fire has brought to the public
fore once again the issue of fire safety in buildings hosting high-attendance
events, which remains an unsolved problem in Romania.