Report on the 'Colectiv' Fire

64 people died in the devastating fire that broke out at the Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest on the night of October 30th. Some 200 people were wounded. The event had a powerful impact and was followed by large-scale street protests, which triggered the resignation of Prime Minister Victor Ponta. The three owners of the 'Colectiv' club are currently under home arrest and prosecuted for manslaughter. 

The investigations conducted after the tragedy have revealed the fact that the drop ceiling of the club was made up of highly flammable materials, the ventilation system had not been installed correctly and part of the electrical installation was improper. Also,  neither the local authorities, nor the Inspectorate for Emergency Situations or the State Inspectorate for Constructions had drawn up  the necessary control papers and had not taken the required measures. 

Now, almost five months since the tragedy, the Prime Minister's Control Unit has published a report showing that the emergency intervention after the fire was largely uncoordinated and characterized by improvisation on the authorities' part. That happened because of the lack of training on emergency situations, legislative incongruity and scarcity of materials, the report also reads. According to the same document, the plan red intervention was not started immediately, but only after too many bureaucratic moves, although at least one of the calls received presented elements showing quite clearly that the situation was severe, in which case the legislation in force allowed the use of faster intervention mechanisms. The report also notes that there were institutions that did their job properly and others that did not, such as the Bucharest - Ilfov  'Dealul Spirii' Inspectorate for Emergency Situations.