Fire Prevention, from Theory to Practice
The fire in Bucharests Colectiv nightclub revealed legislative flaws and safety irregularities.
România Internațional, 09.11.2015, 13:50
The horrific incident in the Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest would have never happened if the venue had had fire safety permits granted by the Department for Emergency Situations. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated case. The tragedy brought to light the fact that thousands of venues throughout Romania, which host events attended by hundreds and even thousands of people, do not have fire safety permits. In fact, all of them have been operating for years without such permits.
It was the interim prime minister himself, Sorin Cimpeanu, who announced on Saturday that only 7% of the 19 thousand schools in Romania have fire safety permits. Cimpeanu has explained that this situation was triggered by the fact that getting a fire safety permit is neither easy, nor cheap.
Sorin Cimpeanu: “The licensing documentation must be drawn up by certified experts, it costs around 10 to 15 thousand euros and it takes 6 to 12 months to complete, depending on the building.
A day later, Prime Minister Cimpeanu said that following his announcement, another 4,000 schools “remembered they did have a fire safety permit, after all. Hospitals are no better in this respect either, PM Cimpeanu said.
State Secretary with the Home Affairs Ministry, Raed Arafat, has confirmed the situation and has pointed out that several hospital managers have been fined this year for this very reason. Arafat has also said that nightclubs and dance clubs are being checked for safety permits and for compliance with maximum capacity regulations.
Raed Arafat: “There are many nightclubs and dance clubs which have closed down until they receive safety permits. Checks are under way and I assure you we are very strict. We wont hesitate to punish those who do not comply.
The Department for Emergency Situations has checked cinemas, theatre halls, cultural centres and city halls in Bucharest and outside the capital city and has found that many of them operated without safety permits. The National Arena is the best example in this respect. Romanias biggest stadium, which in the last 4 years venued international football matches attended by thousands of spectators, such as the Europa League final and the match between Romania and Netherlands, has never had the fire departments approval to operate.
