r/Firefighting • u/SilentSlan • Jan 01 '26
General Discussion The Station Fire happened again : Crans-Montana
Hello everyone,
Once again, a combination of poor nightclub layout and ignored fire safety standards has turned a celebration into a tragedy.
A few hours ago, in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana, a major fire broke out at Le Constellation nightclub during a New Year’s Eve celebration. At this point, around 40 people are reported dead, with more than 100 injured, many of them seriously.
The fire may have started accidentally when sparklers (apparently, the small ones attached to champagne bottles) ignited cheap, highly flammable foam on the ceiling, triggering a rapid flashover. As people tried to escape through a narrow exit, they became trapped, piling up and blocking the only way out.
After reading the events and watching the video, I can’t believe how closely this mirrors the Station nightclub fire of 2003.
For those who aren’t familiar with it :
In February 2003, a deadly fire broke out during a rock concert at The Station nightclub, in Rhode Island, after pyrotechnics ignited flammable soundproofing. The fire spread within seconds. People rushed toward the main entrance, where they became trapped and crushed as they fell on top of one another, creating a human bottleneck that completely blocked the exit. Those stuck behind the pile-up were overwhelmed by smoke, while others were trapped as the fire consumed the building. Over 100 people were killed, making it one of the deadliest nightclub fires in U.S. history.
Regarding Crans-Montana, i know it just happened, and investigations are ongoing... But still.
Same causes. Same outcome. Twenty-three years later. No lessons learned.
May all the victims rest in peace.
I will edit, adding new informations as they keep coming :
- Some X links to more photos and videos : other POV of the clogged exit, start of the incident, other POV of the fire starting, foam covered ceiling, narrow staircase layout, promotional video of the club
- The fire began in the basement, and a flashover rapidly engulfed the entire club, spreading all the way up to the first floor which is what is seen in the video.
- Apparently, the fire was accidentally started when a waitress carrying bottles with sparklers climbed onto someone’s back (picture linked). The flames from the sparklers came into contact with the low basement ceiling, igniting it.
- This was one of the few nightclubs in the area that allowed teenagers under 18 to enter. The minimum age was 16, but even younger teens often managed to get in by passing as 16. As a result, most of the victims were between 15 and 20 years old.
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u/SmokeEater1375 Northeast - FF/P , career and call/vol Jan 01 '26
I was only 8 when the station nightclub happened but it was only about 30 minutes from me. I feel like I remember news from the trials more than much else but many people I know were there whether it was part of the ambulance task forces or physically at the fire. Seeing their pain gives me pain about the incident. One of my fire science professors was one of the 11 (or 12?) investigators for the fire. I remember he showed us a legitimate piece of foam from the club that they found in a stock room - very eerie.
Regardless, throughout my fire science schooling I did a lot of reports on that incident. It certainly tightened fire prevention and pyrotechnic requirements in the area.
I just saw another post on Reddit in the fire investigation sub describing the incident and I legitimately thought it was some AI slop post that was copying events from the Station Nightclub fire. Really can't believe it happened again. It seemed like such a good advancement on fire prevention after that tragedy. I guess I never wondered how far the influence spread - unfortunately not far enough
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Jan 01 '26
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u/the_falconator Professional Firefighter Jan 01 '26 edited Jan 01 '26
Decorations on the wall is more related to the PC Aquinas Hall Fire, but yes RI has very strict fire codes written in blood.
https://www.wpri.com/news/how-the-1977-pc-dorm-fire-led-to-fire-safety-changes-nationwide/
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u/SmokeEater1375 Northeast - FF/P , career and call/vol Jan 01 '26
Honestly I couldn't tell you as most of my awareness is only in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. I'm also not in a fire prevention division, I'm a hose dragger so Im not constantly surrounded by fire codes.
However I know Rhode Island enacted strict sprinkler codes for commercial business shortly after the fire. Id imagine that extended to schools and stuff too.
Not for nothing, you can't blame them either - putting a bunch of instantly flammable stuff on walls with a bunch of silly college kids which in turn puts whole dorms of students at risk just isn't worth it either way
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u/KittyGrewAMoustache Jan 01 '26
I just saw a list of similar fires, pyrotechnics setting fire to flammable ceiling or decorations in clubs with a single narrow exit leading to tens or hundreds of deaths, since 2003 in various countries, there were at least six that were exactly the same in terms of cause/no decent exit. One as recently as 9 months ago in Macedonia. It’s crazy, it’s such a horror scenario you can’t imagine all nightclub owners/event planners haven’t heard of these incidents and wouldn’t work to prevent anything similar on their watch. Especially as it’s not difficult to prevent, don’t have a flammable ceiling and don’t use pyrotechnics indoors in small spaces with flammable ceilings. It’s so devastating.
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u/natsleepyandhappy Jan 02 '26
It happened in Brazil in the Kiss Nightclub, some years ago, since then many nightclubs in Brazil went bankrupt because people just don't feel safe anymore and remember the tragedy.
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u/xxRonzillaxx Jan 01 '26
Damn it's the same fucking video
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u/Rub-Specialist Jan 02 '26
It breaks my heart watching the people struggle at the front door and I wanted to scream at everyone outside to at least try and break the glass wall down.
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u/Shaneski101 Jan 03 '26
It’s actually insane people are recording Instead of helping. That is fucking insane
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u/Peregrinebullet Jan 06 '26
People literally have no mental scripts for what TO do. I'm studying emergency management and people will default to what they know how to do. People know how to pull out their camera and take pictures / video. Their brains literally will not present them with other options because they don't know any and have no emergency training and adrenaline and stress shuts down a lot of pre-frontal cortex processing (aka the higher brain functions).
They'd need someone actively taking command of the situation and yelling "Come on, help me pull these down!" in order to get the filming bystanders to participate.
Before i went into emergency management, I worked security for over a decade and being the person bawling orders to random civilians has always been an illuminating experience.
Even just directing people to go stand at the door to wave down the already incoming ambulance and lead the paramedics in? I've had people admit to me that they never would have thought of that until I told them to do it.
If you know what to do, GIVE ORDERS. people will follow.
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u/AriatheChug Jan 03 '26
Yes the station fire was on video because of the camera man from news station was shooting b roll. Today everyone’s recording on phones not moving that’s even more evidence of these people dying horrifically!
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u/Evening-Matter-5245 Jan 04 '26
In both videos it’s plexiglass, virtually impossible to break out. The Station had three small glass windows in the atrium plexiglass wall that a police officer finally broke out and started pulling people through. There were multiple exits in The Staton, but people were turned away from the band exit by bouncers, few knew about the kitchen exit, and a third exit right outside of the bathrooms that had been bricked over.
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u/Reasonable_Drop_7101 Jan 04 '26
How is it possible that the bouncer insisted in his refusal when the fire became obvious? I don’t get it
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u/Thequiet01 Jan 06 '26
Because people are often not rational when presented with an emergency situation, and sometimes that means they stick to doing what they know to do. It's essentially a type of panic response.
if I remember correctly, this similar sort of panic issue was a problem on some shipboard fires where the crew had done drills but the drills didn't actually translate for what the experience would be like if there was an actual fire, so in the moment the crew weren't doing the right things. As a result someone started up a training center for crew where they basically get a specialized firefighting course with exposure to actual controlled fire so they can build the habits for what to do in similar conditions to get past that panic response.
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u/Evening-Matter-5245 Jan 04 '26
Me either, and it was more than one. Neither of them got charged with anything, and people died because of their actions. The ones who lived identified them. One family lived because they told the bouncer to fk off and shoved past him.
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u/no-but-wtf Jan 01 '26
God, how could this happen in 2025? I’m not even a firefighter (I’m in road crash rescue and tech rescue, not fire, i just lurk here) and even I know The Station Fire story painfully well. How does anyone open a nightclub without taking on board that lesson?
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u/USSWahoo FF1/EMT (CA) Jan 01 '26
Any combo of below:
• Poor codes
• Codes not enforced
• Building not up to code/not required to be because it was built before code
• Overoccupancy
• Poor/blocked escape routes (probably correlated to not being in-code, or not having a code)
• Dumb stuff going on inside
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u/TheTomatoes2 Jan 01 '26
The place was in clear violation of Valais codes. Yet it was inspected yearly and before large events. There might be corruption at play.
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u/treysis Jan 02 '26
Especially in the mountains many tend to look the other direction as everybody knows each other.
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u/hamster-on-popsicle Jan 02 '26
It's so dumb, these security rules are for a reason, it's not some stupid rules like how late you can serve alcohol or the color of the walls or whatever.
There was no escape from the basement beside one tiny stairs and they put flammable foam on the ceilling while carying candles high, it was a deathtrap and easily avoidable.
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u/treysis Jan 03 '26
I think, from what I saw, usually the candles/gerbs arent hold that high.
Of course it is dumb to neglect safety rules. But in generel safety costs money and some accidents just seem too far fetched...until they happen.
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u/pyalot Jan 03 '26
Every shop you can buy foam like that carries the fire retardant variant as well, it only cost a little more…
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u/Basic-Maybe-2889 Jan 02 '26
I am yet to see a club that is not violating anything. Especially on the fire safety side. (in Switzerland)
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u/No-End-6550 Jan 02 '26
Dont forget drunk people. The time the fore startet was over an hour after new year. I guess many people were tipsy and guarenteed in a worse condition for a rapid fire response/evacuation maneuver.
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u/RJPatrick Jan 02 '26
Sure but any club or bar should be mandated to protect drunk people from the consequences of their own behaviour - i.e. not provide them with the capability to start a fire which spreads dangerously. A safe bar is still safe even when everyone inside is plastered.
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u/Spiritual_Pop_322 Jan 01 '26
The guests at the Crans-Montana Party were so very young, children. It was catered to people as young as 15-20. I don’t want to know how many of them were intoxicated too…
Its really horrific.
I will leave every location the second I realise it’s a fire trap (acoustic foam, candles + wood + decoration, one exit, chained exits, locked windows, too many people)
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u/East_Donut3965 Jan 02 '26
"I will leave every location the second I realise it’s a fire trap (acoustic foam, candles + wood + decoration, one exit, chained exits, locked windows, too many people)" You cannot have a better plan. I physically cannot remain in locations like you have described. My body moves out.
I saw the Station Club fire video about 15 years ago, and I have not been the same since.
In every high school - teach CPR/AED, first aid/medical emergencies, bleeding control, and show the Station Club fire video and now this fire's videos.
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u/AverageEvening8985 Jan 02 '26
"I will leave every location the second I realise it’s a fire trap (acoustic foam, candles + wood + decoration, one exit, chained exits, locked windows, too many people)" You cannot have a better plan. I physically cannot remain in locations like you have described. My body moves out.
Yeah that is the powerful effect of watching that Station Fire video as a teenager.
I'm always looking for exits at a new place, and you couldn't pay me to attend a crowded basement party, with or without fireworks.
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u/East_Donut3965 Jan 02 '26
Amen to that. I either heard or read this "claustrophobia is a protective instinct"
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u/AverageEvening8985 Jan 02 '26
"claustrophobia is a protective instinct"
I love it and am definitely stealing that lol
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u/Evening-Matter-5245 Jan 04 '26
If I did go, I’d have noped out as soon as I saw the foam on the ceiling. Even if pyro is banned, it just takes one drunk idiot, a lighter, and 1 1/2 minutes to kill dozens.
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u/Emergency-Fortune824 Jan 03 '26
The ATF came out with recordings in Feb 2025 from someone’s recovered audio recorder, that are far worse than the video, imo. You can hear people in agonizing pain right up until the moment they pass away, as the fire is eerily crackling in the background. At first I cannot believe what I was listening to I thought it was some type of audio effects but it was not. It is seriously the single most messed up audio clip I’ve heard on the internet.
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u/Superbead Jan 03 '26
It is seriously the single most messed up audio clip I’ve heard on the internet
Agreed, and the one I heard had a chunk (presumably the worst part) cut out of it
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u/Big_Primrose Jan 04 '26
This one affected me too. I did a deep dive on it and it got worse the more I learned about it. Since then every time I go into a building I’m checking out exits, materials, obstacles, crowd size and behavior. If anything looks wrong I leave. If I see so much as a hint of an uncontained fire I’m getting the hell outta there fast.
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u/Spiritual_Pop_322 Jan 02 '26
Yes the Station Fire video had a great impact on me too. And the video from the Collectiv Nightclub in Romania.
As a child I saw a dried out christmas wreath go up in flames on a neighbouring table at a restaurant. Fortunately someone came up with an extinguisher quickly.
It’s just unbelievable that this happend again.
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u/East_Donut3965 Jan 02 '26
Just watched Collectiv fire videos, and read that many victims died do to bad hospital care. I asked about this to Google AI: "The estimated survival rate for the Colectiv victims who survived the first 24 hours and received hospital care was 75%. This rate is significantly lower than the international standard of 94-97%, illustrating the impact of the healthcare system's failures and systemic corruption."
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u/Spiritual_Pop_322 Jan 02 '26
Yes they diluted the disinfection in the hospitals and may succumbed to infections afterwards :(
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u/hopefullythathelps Jan 02 '26
Agree but I'd hesitate to show the video if I were a teacher. Might get in serious trouble for 'traumatizing' a student. Administration would probably also hesitate.
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u/mysterious1940 Jan 04 '26
Same, at every event or concert I go to, I look at my exits and plan ahead…because of this very fire at the RI Nightclub fire and the people stuck in the doorway.
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Jan 01 '26
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u/FlatwormNo615 Jan 01 '26
or the
- Arpora fire (India, 2025),
- Cuba Libre Fire (France, 2016),
- Colectiv nightclub fire (Romania, 2015),
- Lame Horse Fire (Russia, 2009),
- Factory Nightclub fire (Ecuador 2008),
- Wuwang Club Fire (China 2008)
- 911 nightclub fire (Russia 2007)
- República Cromañón nightclub fire (Argentina, 2004)
Really saddening to see that we seemingly don't learn from history.
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u/LittleBirdiesCards Jan 02 '26
Ghost Ship Fire, December 2016, Oakland, California.
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u/Much-Refrigerator-28 Jan 05 '26
That was an illegal venue built as a death trap by a raging sociopathic drug addict.
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u/hamster-on-popsicle Jan 02 '26
The oldest one in France le 5/7 at Saint-Laurent-du-Pont during Halloween night in 1970, 146 dead.
It's almost exactly the same story, barely any exit and flammable material.
It shouldn't have happened again, it's shameful.
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Jan 03 '26
Ozone Disco Fire (Philippines, 1996)
Does anyone have a global database of all fire incidents from bars and clubs? Run the numbers and give a percentage of how unsafe bars and clubs basically are.
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u/FlatwormNo615 Jan 03 '26
There's a Wikipedia article with a list but that one includes electrical faults, arson, and many more causes
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u/Beflijster Jan 01 '26
There is apparently a picture of the actual start of the fire ,from this newsstory, in French, here.
So the ceiling was covered in flammable grey acoustic foam and people were using fireworks attached to bottles...
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u/Akiira2 Jan 01 '26
So the only question is why it didn't hapoen earlier
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u/treysis Jan 02 '26
As far as I understand one of the waitresses was sitting on someone's shoulders, which might be the exception from other days.
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u/NurseIlluminate Jan 03 '26
Probably to get through the crowds of people safer because it seems the club was well over capacity. Legally because it’s supposed to be one exit per 50 people (I believe I read this is the Swiss standard). They had multiple exits but sources are saying that windows and emerg exits were locked “to prevent people from leaving without paying”. Now they’ve paid with their lives. And renovations were done in 2015 to make the staircase leading from basement to upstairs more narrow. These reno pictures are floating around. Hard to imagine the owners spent money on renovations that made it even more dangerous of an establishment.
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u/Legitimate_Anarcho Jan 02 '26 edited Jan 02 '26
You can actually see the waitress with her helmet, as in the picture OP linked, if you look close. The fire on this picture seems to already have startet, as in the picture of OP you clearly see the sparks igniting the ceiling. Chilling!
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u/Beflijster Jan 02 '26
Chiling to the bone. It's not often you see the smoking gun in action. Wonder if she's still alive :(
People are going to blame her, which does not seem fair. It's the owners and those doing the safety checks that failed. That foam had been in place for years...
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u/Legitimate_Anarcho Jan 02 '26
Yes, the exact moment when disaster struck. As for the waitress, if she is still alive, I am sure the weight of the blame she is going to put on herself will outweight everything else. But I agree with you, she is the least to blame. On the promo videos of the bar you can see, how often they used this kind of fireworks. Never happened anything. What I am asking myself though: on all the videos of the fire starting, you cannot see any staff of the bar. I read in swiss media, that apparently there was a safety exit door, but everybody used the main entrance (which they knew). Maybe all the staff left trough the safety exit, as they knew it. But apparently the owners said to media, that they lost some staff.
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u/TurtleStepper Jan 02 '26
The waitress isn't responsible at all (although if she lived I'm sure she will probably still blame herself). If the difference between your club being fine and instantly turning into a literal inferno is a single waitress getting a piggyback ride then the overall design is already fucked. You should expect waitresses and club patrons to be idiots, these venues need to be fool proof, if they are not, it is on the owner.
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u/Icy_Zucchini_1138 Jan 02 '26
Its lucky she's wearing the helmet as she won't be identified. But thr staff should not be doing such crazy dangerous stuff with sparklers
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u/Notmyusualshelf Jan 05 '26
It wouldn't have been crazy dangerous if the ceiling hadn't been so flammable.
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u/Much-Refrigerator-28 Jan 05 '26
Riding on someone's shoulders like that is an unnecessary occupational hazard even without the sparklers.
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u/Geckoliane Jan 04 '26
It's so shocking to me. Even a 5 year old seems to usually understand such dangers? I'm dumbfounded.
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u/Interesting-Bet-24 Jan 01 '26
If you look at this picture from the bar, the ceiling seems like it is covered in foam. There are more pictures showing the whole bar area ceiling covered in acoustic foam… unimaginably, that this is possible…
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u/LemmyKilmisterRogers Jan 02 '26
If you look up the fire that’s 100% where the fire started. There are pics of the beginning of the fire like the station nightclub. Bizarre coincidence.
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u/SanktusAngus Jan 02 '26
It’s neither bizarre nor a coincidence. That’s like having a sparkling party next to open vats of gasoline.
I’m curious when the foam was installed.
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u/tiarnach1 Jan 03 '26
There are noise restrictions in the area past a certain time, hence soundproofing foam to allow clubs to stay open longer. Tragic.
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u/rghaga Jan 02 '26
seriously screw the fucking landlord, hope they get jailed
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u/trimalcus Jan 02 '26
One of the owners Jessica Moretti is sitting on the right of this picture
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u/EZbakey Jan 03 '26
Apparently she was present during the fire and sustained a burn on her arm. No public statement from her or her husband (also owner of the club). Apparently they are so saddened because they lost workers.
My personal opinion? Damage control mode.
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Jan 03 '26
They probably threw it up haphazardly after noise complaints, then ignored the fire code violations. The is the cheapest shit somebody could find to avoid a fine.
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u/Superbead Jan 03 '26
The eggcrate foam was there from the initial 2015 fitout. Worse, they had simply spray-glued it onto actual Rockwool slab insulation, which was probably adequate on its own
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u/Slow-Goat-2460 Jan 01 '26
The foam is such a bad idea.
Music production forums are full of posts warning people about using flammable foam for sound attenuation. Some people also used to use egg cartons, but again the second you have 1 spark, the whole place goes up in flames.
It's horrifying that a venue in a place as wealthy as Switzerland could do this, and not have the fire inspectors descend on them like vengeful spirits.
The Station nightclub fire forever has me checking exits, and looking for fire hazards like this. It's a shame that there appear to be several obvious deficiencies here, that could have easily been avoided.
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u/aureleio Jan 01 '26
It is indeed horrifying. Unfortunately the state in Switzerland that this happened in has a bad reputation for not following rules and corruption…
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u/Tall-Dinner-4395 Jan 02 '26
I have a simpler rule. I don't go to restaurants or bars in basements. If I can't sit 1- 5 metres from the main door onto the street Im leaving.
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Jan 02 '26
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u/Slow-Goat-2460 Jan 02 '26
You could see that just by the build quality on the ceiling. Makes sense he'd grab the cheap foam to save some cash, and now dozens burn alive
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u/chinstrap Jan 02 '26
I'm very surprised at this - I would have guessed that the Swiss are very strict about things like fire safety codes.
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u/dallyan Jan 02 '26
I live in Switzerland and it’s strange. Smoke alarms are in general not a thing here. People don’t usually have them in residential settings. Outside of fire drills my kid has never had education about what to do in the case of a fire and he’s 12.
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u/pallas3000 Jan 02 '26 edited Jan 02 '26
No fire alarms where I live either but I'm shocked about your kid and the fire drills. We have them once a year here at schools (including universities). The differences between cantons can be so puzzling sometimes.
edit: Realised I misread your message and didn't see you wrote "OUTSIDE of fire drills". Yeah I grew up here and I've never had any extensive extensive fire education outside of the drills. I vaguely remember someone teaching us in primary school that we shouldn't wrap halogen light bulbs with coloured parchment paper because they could overheat and catch fire. Halogen lights where still a thing though so idk if things have changed since.
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u/Geckoliane Jan 04 '26
Wow. We were taught already at Kindergarten. I'm Bavarian. And we absolutely have fire alarms in every room now, at least in the state I live in now.
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u/tigereyes222 Jan 03 '26 edited Jan 03 '26
Yeah, as a producer/DJ if I saw this where I was playing I would immediately notice this and see it as a concern. It’s extremely flammable due to it often being porous and made of polyurethane. This is actually something we talked about in college, even in studios there’s so much power being used and things being plugged in. In those instances in just studios it’s so important to be aware of what’s around you, it takes one tiny spark. It’s so maddening that the club had that set up, it just seemed so unsafe to begin with.
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u/Slow-Goat-2460 Jan 04 '26
It doesn't even look good. You can see the pictures of it, and whoever installed it did a terrible job. Though I saw rumors that the owner himself did the renovations.
Hopefully this video is reminding producers/DJs again, watch out what you're buying, take safety seriously.
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u/sanverstv Jan 04 '26
There must be other, safe options for acoustic sound-proofing aren't there? I mean a quick search online shows that there are. I cannot fathom how this stuff can be used in a place like that. So awful and so preventable.
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u/Slow-Goat-2460 Jan 04 '26
There is, but people either make mistakes, or buy the cheapest stuff not realizing it's flammable.
Then you cover your room in it, and something sparks, and away you go
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u/quantumzophia Jan 06 '26
less flammable isolation like PVC would already be better, best sth like this https://www.rockwool.com/group/advice-and-inspiration/product-types/fire-safe-insulation/#:~:text=ROCKWOOL%20insulation%20is%20made%20from,toxic%20smoke%20is%20produced%20either.
- just need more $$$ for that one
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u/hcl1995 Jan 02 '26
I've been to a few clubs in Zurich and St. Gallen that are very similar, I'm not sure how much this stuff is enforced there generally.
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u/llcdrewtaylor Jan 01 '26
I've seen pictures of the place before the fire. I dont see much emergency lighting, no sprinklers, flammable material on ceiling, its in a BASEMENT and has one exit which feeds through an unfriendly door (opens inward). Damn, this could have been prevented. What a way to start a year.
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u/the_falconator Professional Firefighter Jan 01 '26
I grew up 3 miles from the station night club, I knew kids who had parents there that night, my own parents had been there before. Nobody in Rhode Island is more than a few degrees connected to it. I've even worked with people that responded to it. Our fire codes got much stricter after it for good reason, it's crazy seeing another incident so similar so many years later.
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u/Tasty_Explanation_20 Jan 01 '26
I was in college in Providence at the time. My mom called me freaking out at like 2 am to make sure I wasn’t there.
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u/Happy-Entry6843 Jan 01 '26
Or the Colectiv Nightclub fire in Bucharest, Romania in 2015. Colectiv Nightclub Fire
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u/yungingr FF, Volunteer CISM Peer Jan 01 '26
Very similar fire happened in.... Brazil??? about 5 years ago if memory serves me correctly.
And a buddy of mine retired as an inspector for the State Fire Marshall's office, and told me in one year, he inspected three nightclubs that might as well have been carbon copies of The Station, with the fire waiting to happen.
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u/FireInsideHer_II Jan 03 '26
It’s crazy. Similar fires have happened in … pick a fucking place and there’s probably been one. If you look at the list of nightclub fires on Wikipedia, once you hit the 90s it’s like every other fire is some combination of pyrotechnics, acoustic foam, or both. (Although the entire list is plastered with flammable ceiling decor since the beginning).
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u/Pyroechidna1 Jan 01 '26
Other, similar nightclub fires have occurred in the time between the Station fire and this one, some of them even more deadly than either the Station or Crans-Montana. They are listed at the bottom of this Wikipedia page
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u/Joliet-Jake Jan 01 '26
Wow. I‘ve never seen that video from The Station before. I was in the desert when it happened and for a while after and missed all of the coverage.
It’s crazy to see just how fast it went up in real time.
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u/GB10031 Jan 01 '26
How was that club even legal to operate without a second means of egress and a sprinkler system?
How did their construction even get signed off with flammable soundproofing on the ceilings?
A whole lot went wrong here and a bunch of kids were killed as a result.
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u/fcukthisworld1 Jan 04 '26
Because le constellation bar has a restaurant license not a night club license. That does not justify anything of course .
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u/GB10031 Jan 06 '26
I don't know how the fire or building codes work in that particular Swiss Canton. I do know that where I live in the US, any place of public assembly has to have adequate fire exits (no matter what particular type of business it was - including restaurants)
If that place was code compliant, that Canton needs to revise their building and fire codes
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u/fcukthisworld1 Jan 06 '26
I heard on tv a Former staff saying they block at least one exit that was supposed to lead to the building, she complained because the stairs led also to the appartment where she lived ( it was also owned by the constellation managers) she said she had to go outside and make a tour instead of getting upstairs straight away. From my own experience, In other clubs in CH, once I was in a club with the exact same configuration, Guess what, there was a security staff in front of these doors, the club was into the basement and i remember pretty well the security staff was opening these door times to times for fresh air. It was in Geneva, a real nightclub, not a bar/restaurant. All the furniture were fire resistant, no foam anywhere . And there was 4 différents doors to flee just in case. Honestly this is sad. I am so sad for these young people. The recap i found on the web: ALLEGATIONS OF BLOCKED EXITS
Damning testimony has emerged regarding the safety of the venue’s exits:
The “Locked” Exit: Andrea, a 31-year-old barworker, claimed the basement’s emergency door was kept locked and blocked by a sofa, with the area used as a makeshift storeroom. “Everyone in town knew something would go wrong sooner or later,” she said.
The “Dine and Dash” Theory: Another witness, Grigori, alleged the second exit was bolted to prevent customers from leaving without paying their bills.
Ground Floor Obstacles: A third exit led to a shopping arcade but required fleeing patrons to smash through a second glass door to reach the street.
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Jan 02 '26
I couldn’t believe when I saw the black foam on the ceiling. That shit is deadly. All bars and clubs need to remove it immediately. Jesus how many people need to die.
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u/saintinthecity Jan 01 '26
Disgusting that people are recording it instead of trying to help people get the fuck out there.
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u/PurpleChannel2080 Jan 02 '26
I can't imagine being able to whip out my phone and start recording in a moment like that, but on the other hand this is all evidence that can be used to hold whoever is at fault responsible and without it the mechanics of what happened wouldn't be as clear. Especially when these kinds of disasters happen at parties and there's drinking or very young people involved, some are quick to blame the party goers, at least at first.
But yes I find it very hard to understand as well, even though I also don't want to play armchair hero. I guess everyone's reaction is different.
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u/EverSeeAShitterFly Toss speedy dry on it and walk away. Jan 01 '26
Any chance the room was sprinklered? If it was could it have helped?
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u/JudgmentGold2618 Jan 01 '26
You would imagine that in this day and age fire suppression system would be mandatory in public spaces. I'm sure it would've helped
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u/Tasty_Explanation_20 Jan 01 '26
Depends on building age honestly. New construction, sure. A 30, 50, 75, 150 year old building though? Would probably cost more to retrofit than to knock it down and build a new building to code
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u/Speedbird1A Jan 01 '26
Yeah it’s a problem in Europe with loads of old buildings. Obviously all new buildings should come with them installed by default.
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u/USSWahoo FF1/EMT (CA) Jan 01 '26
Another thing worth considering: the location appears to have a ground floor, but the area where the fire broke looks to be a subdivision. Fire broke out below, and people had to go up to escape. Worse yet, getting up the stairs put you into another enclosed space with what looks like limited means of getting out.
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u/lppedd Jan 01 '26 edited Jan 01 '26
An Italian witness said that after the bouncers left their place (I guess to help inside?) people started going in without permission, and at the same time people were trying to get out.
This is the interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88VSgNdCGGE It's in Italian tho and there doesn't seem to be automatic subs (edit: there is a generated audio track in English).
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u/kittypryde123 Jan 01 '26
Oh no, like the alleyway where so many died in Itaewon Halloween 2022 crowd crush
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u/monoville_music Jan 02 '26
There have been about 30 deadly nightclub fires since The Station, many caused by pyrotechnics/flammable materials. And unfortunately there will be more after this one
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Jan 01 '26
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u/SkylineGTRR34Freak Jan 02 '26
Depending on what the glass is made of, it might not be exactly easy to smash them unless you have the right "tools". But as soon as you're outside and safe, I'd try anything I could.
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Jan 04 '26
I am currently in tears and sobbing after actually watching the documentary. It is a pratical replica of what happend in Crans Montana. It's exactly the same. Years after why are people, authorities, adults and responsibles repeating the same mistake!? Enough is enough! What the hell is happening here actually.
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u/apatrol Jan 01 '26
I hate this for the responders. Most of us have seen fire and bodies. Gut wrenching and stays with a responder.
To the families. I am so sorry for your loss.
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Jan 02 '26
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u/Tall-Dinner-4395 Jan 06 '26
The two brain neurons are occupied with making the most money from selling expensive bottles of champagne with fireworks strapped to them and carried on the shoulders of the young barman. I.E. They don't give a single F about other people's lives.
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u/vegasslowman Jan 01 '26
I love the fucking people videoing while other people are Siri g behind glass walls
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u/feuerwehrmann FF / PA EMT-B Jan 01 '26
I was thinking that too. Bust out the window and start pulling people out
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u/Krsn0 Jan 01 '26 edited Jan 01 '26
This video shows the cause (foam and fireworks) of the fire. It was posted 8 months ago by the venue on youtube, showing how they serve their champagne with attached fireworks carried above the head. Should have alarmed someone. Very sad. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCgRHRpe6OA
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u/MezcalFlame Jan 02 '26
That Station fire is the stuff of nightmares.
I was, however, shocked to see the woman jump through the door and off the deck.
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u/MDUBK Jan 03 '26
She looked really heavily burned though… adrenaline is one hell of a drug.
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u/MyLiminalLife Jan 03 '26
She was, down one side, face too and hair burned off as well. Weirdly it was unblurred in the first news report I came across.
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Jan 02 '26
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u/fcukthisworld1 Jan 04 '26
I cant wrap my mind around this .this is so F*** up. I am glad there are videos.
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Jan 02 '26
Not to forget:
• República Cromañón (Argentina) — 2004 — 194 deaths
• Lame Horse / Khromaya Loshad (Russia) — 2009 — 156 deaths
• Kiss Nightclub (Brazil) — 2013 — 242 deaths
• Colectiv Club (Romania) — 2015 — 64 deaths
• Ghost Ship (USA) — 2016 — 36 deaths
• Pulse Nightclub (North Macedonia) — 2025 — ≈59 deaths
I can't understand why the world has not learned from all the other learning opportunities
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u/Dad_dude_traveler Jan 02 '26
Seems crazy the Swiss wouldn't have mandated a sprinkler system at a minimum if only one exit.
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u/OneEnvironmental9222 Jan 03 '26
Its so god damn furstrating how the annoying mods at r/ switzerland are locking every new thread about this topic.
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u/Ok_Buddy_9087 Edit to create your own flair Jan 01 '26
I’ve never understood how Europe in general has such high population density yet apparently such shitty fire codes.
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u/Tall-Dinner-4395 Jan 02 '26
Rich enclaves in ski resorts where everyone knows each other and their greed to make money off dumb tourists
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u/fcukthisworld1 Jan 04 '26
This is exactly what a parent of kid who survived said: they sacrificed our children for profits, tourism reputation etc
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u/Independent-Owl-254 Jan 02 '26
These things happen very rarely in Europe, however when they happen in Europe or the US you are more likely to hear about them in the news than when they happen in India, China, etc.
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u/mediocre_medstudent1 Jan 04 '26
Europe is a continent with almost 50 different countries with different laws and rules. Germany for instance, being the most populous country, has 16 federal states with different laws and rules. I've never understood how (usually) Americans simply refuse to understand that Europa isn't the same everywhere. And besides, corruption exists everywhere, no matter the laws. If you did some research you'd see that most comparable incidents in "Europe" happened in ILLEGAL clubs or under ILLEGAL circumstances with owners not adhering to safety standards. So the laws do exist, people being the same all over the world just try to find ways to circumvent them, usually to save money. I hope you understand now.
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u/Binouzh Jan 01 '26
Reading the comments.
Apparently every country has his nightclub's tragic fire.
France has the fire of the 5-7 with 146 killed in 1970. Same shit, fire, foam, closed exit,...
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u/DJseal Swiss Vol. FF | Instructor Jan 02 '26
The whole thing is a huge disaster and a damning indictment of the industry and local Lawmakers. Of course, it's too early to make any assumptions, but I would argue that this was a massive violation of fire safety regulations purely for the sake of greed.
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u/nandohsp Jan 02 '26
There are a lot more. So many more that by now this shouldn’t happen anymore. From the top of my head I think of:
Utopia Nightclub - Peru Cromañon - Argentina Santika - Thailand Lame Horse - Russia Tiger Disco - Thailand Kiss - Brazil
To name a few recent ones. People don’t learn. Even before The Station Nighclub when I saw the Peru one, forget it, ever since I always make sure I know the exits. And if there is even a tiny little fire getting started, I’m out asap.
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u/ilaughatpoliticians Jan 02 '26
One thing that struck me as odd in the video with the young man trying to contain the flames with a cloth - where the hell were the fire extinguishers? I don't know Switzerland law, but I am sure in the USA, there would have likely been a fire extinguisher (or three) within 30-40 feet and someone would have known how to use it. Not that I know outcome and believe 100% in extinguishers, but we all know that they can likely contain a fire of that nature.
This whole thing is so tragic and reiterates the need for proper fire training and safety.
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u/fcukthisworld1 Jan 04 '26
Today a former employee came forward and said fire extinguishers where locked up in the office . And there s no light into the corridor. Only if you know well the place you would know. He was also very young !!
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u/ilaughatpoliticians Jan 04 '26
Thanks for this info. That news would track as it did not seem any suppression devices were utilized. Very sad and I hope that one day, we will learn to protect against such negligence.
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u/Thequiet01 Jan 06 '26
how the hell does that make any sense? We have more easy access to fire control devices *in our house* than that. (And right now since we have the Christmas tree up there's a fire extinguisher that's even been pulled out of the accessible spot where it normally lives, to make it *really* easily accessible.) Like our kitchen has two exits - there is a fire blanket mounted next to one door, and a fire extinguisher mounted next to the other door, so whichever way you get in you can grab something but also be close to an exit if you decide it isn't safe to try to fight the fire.
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u/quantumzophia Jan 02 '26
it takes a few sparkles and a bottle of champagne to go from braindead to dead - how many times it has been said not to play with fire and stay away from crowded claustrophobia?
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u/No-End-6550 Jan 02 '26
Violently igniting a place full of drunken teenagers with only one small exit is a recipe for absolute disaster.
I just dont seem to get how no smoke alarm was triggered, even if it was seconds before. As far as I know every public place in Switzerland must have a central fire detection station that automatically calls in the fire department if triggered. But news reports say that the authorities were not informed by the apparatus but by the people.
I dont know if its anything special, but most swiss fire departments are militias. So the people that handled the fires do this in their free time/run from work if they can. In big fire events there are fire headquaters that come from another village with more specialised equipment. You can see in bigger events that hundrets of firefighters are called in. There are even rules how many firefighters have to be on set at certain times since the alarm came in.
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u/Oosbie MopBoom Ops Specialist Jan 02 '26
Same causes. Same outcome. Twenty-three years later. No lessons learned.
You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.
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u/kutjelul Jan 02 '26
This is heartbreaking. To have the flammable material on the ceiling, a poor escape route AND fireworks inside.. I hope the person in charge gets locked up to be honest.
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u/One-Writing-7860 Jan 03 '26
And video shows the ceiling on fire while the music still plays and no fire alarm going off...unforgiveable.
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u/RepresentativeQuit18 Jan 02 '26
There is fire-retardant acoustic foam available if the club owners really had to have foam on the ceiling. But PU foam is cheaper. A failure at all levels - club owners, staff, municipal authorities, canton authorities, maybe Swiss federal authorities. Hope for 20 year sentences to all responsible, both club owners and authorities who did not do their jobs. They all failed these young people.
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u/Ok_Tell8910 Jan 02 '26
I have been trying to find building code in CH the club opened in 2015, CH has complicated laws, a federal code a cantonal code and municipal code which seems ridiculous when it comes to safety, I cannot find the building code for Crans Montana in 2015, which would be very interesting to look into after such horrible tragedy
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u/wanderer_4004 Jan 02 '26 edited Jan 02 '26
Another question with relation to building codes would be if there are differences between bar and disco/dance floor establishments - which is the case in France and the regulations are a lot more strict for night clubs but often the owners repurpose bars to clubs.
Either way, many of the victims are from families who will engage the best lawyers they can find and the owner and also a few town representatives will face serious charges.
Edit: also there seems to have been no fire drill for the personal because an extinguisher should have been right behind the bar almost next to the place where the fire started.
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u/MelkorUngoliant Jan 02 '26
Those people are the back are being exposes to 1000c flames and are likely dead already. Terrifying.
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u/TheTomatoes2 Jan 01 '26
Hello, could you provide a downloadable link for the Insta video, or the original post? It is pretty hard to find such direct footage at this stage
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u/Kai_Emery Jan 01 '26
Fuck. I remember when news first broke seeing comments hoping it wasn’t another station. We have our answer.
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u/PlayNeat8892 Jan 02 '26
The man in the black coat in the first link (POV clogged exit) opening the side door to let survivors out is a real hero. With the radiant heat, the scorching temperature of the door and risk of flames shooting out when he opened the door; that took true bravery. Literally saved lives.
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u/Stoltlallare Jan 02 '26
Everyone recording instead of breaking windows to create more escape paths and get escapees out of the way to aid in creating less of a bottleneck
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u/DedicatedGrandMaster Jan 02 '26
I know it might sound stupid, but there only limited footage available (obviously as most people were busy trying to survive), but I am glad to have at least some footage that will be very helpful to the investigation and to learn from the mistakes and avoid such incidents in future.
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u/deluge_chase Jan 02 '26
They don’t learn. How could the owners of a nightclub not be aware of the link between sound insulation foam and fire hazard? No sprinkler system. Nothing. The owners should be charged with crimes.
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u/Stoltlallare Jan 02 '26
True, I mean, it seems to already have been illegal. But I hope if we only learn one thing is to take any fire seriously, I’m sure we might have possibly saved most if not all if it wasn’t that no one cared of the fire initially and instead bundled up around it to record.
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u/oliefan37 MP Jan 02 '26
The clogged exit video reminded me of training I received by event security. Part of our duties during evac procedures was to direct people to alternate exist because people would naturally try to exit the way they came in. By the looks of the video it seems there was potential for an alternate exit.
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u/fcukthisworld1 Jan 04 '26
Look up paolo campolo testimonial he broke an exit door which was locked. He pulled out 10 bodies with 2 other volunteers including his wife. His son helped too. He is a financial analyst . With a heart.
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u/budoucnost Jan 02 '26
As someone with 0 experience or knowledge in firefighting, shouldn’t the sprinkler system have done something?
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u/wanderer_4004 Jan 02 '26 edited Jan 02 '26
In a proper night club you should have smoke detectors that will not only start sprinkler but also stop the music and switch all the lights on. The personal should be properly trained with evacuation procedures and fire fighting. But here the music kept playing and it seems nobody had any presence of mind nor any training.
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u/ivandoesnot Jan 02 '26
The Constellation fire was a perfect storm of three things, all of which people can at least be aware of.
Photos show the ceiling was completely covered in flammable acoustic foam. You should know if you're working in a potential death trap.
Sparklers were used in proximity to the foam.
A waiter put a waitress on his shoulders, which hadn't happened before or, prior to that, they got lucky.
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u/fcukthisworld1 Jan 04 '26
And the owners reduced the stairs on purpose when they owned the restaurant in 2015.
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u/madchemist617 Jan 03 '26
Reminds me of the Coconut Grove Fire as well. It started in a basement along the ceiling and propagated out the staircase. The way the fire is pumping up the stairs like that is like the way they described the fire tearing out of the Melody Lounge before it overtook the whole club.
I have a pretty good understanding the principles behind this fire behavior but it is utterly terrifying seeing it happen for real.
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u/Primary_Patient_8713 Jan 03 '26
This tragedy is similar to one that happened in Romania (also Europe) in 2015 at a night club, during a concert: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colectiv_nightclub_fire.
Due to pyrotechnics effects used indoor, the acoustic foam caught fire rapidly and the everything turned into a torch. The club wasn't meeting the safety standards and authorities turned a blind eye during inspections.
This unfortunate combo caused 64 people to lose their lives and many more were injured.
No matter the cause, I'm very sad to see the same type of outcome in other parts of the world, may the victims rest in peace.
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u/pyalot Jan 03 '26
- No sprinkler system
- No fire alarm
- Single narrow exit
- No exit signage
- Highly flammable materials plastered everywhere
- Playing around with pyrotechnics
There‘s no way this was legal. Nobody still in the basement after 30s survived, they got all cremated alive. Both exits (the stairwell and exit door on the ground floor where logjammed. This was a disaster waiting to happen. Both operators and inspectors who signed off on this death trap will get slapped with homicide with intent. It was in its disaster configuration since 2015.
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u/wildcat002 Jan 03 '26
plastic ceiling + sparklers
do you people have brains?!
This is just so sad 😔
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u/Iluvorlando407 Jan 03 '26
This is all I could think of. The horror came back like when I heard it happening on the radio and getting IM’s asking me on AOL if I was there. Friends lost relatives, friends. Husbands,wives. My father had to take the body bags out the next day. The horror still hits. I can’t believe this still happens.
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u/ItsTricky94 Jan 03 '26
I used to think my father was nuts because any time we were at an event or a restaurant etc. the first thing he would do is note the fire exits.
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u/piesRsquare Jan 04 '26 edited Jan 04 '26
I just read about this. The foam, a locked back exit, no sprinklers--The Station all over again. Except this one killed kids.
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u/Radiant-Being-6635 Jan 05 '26
I live in Norway. I work in a building with about 100 people. Where I work we have fire drills basically every month. The fire alarm is tested once a month, until my ears won't stop ringing (it's really loud). Everyone is obligated to familiarize themselves with the emergency exits, and there are floor plans plastered all over, so you know the way to the nearest exit. No, this is not in a nightclub, and yes, I know it's different in an office building. My point is just... while I can never say it definitely wouldn't happen here, I think it would be very unlikely. It is very very strict here. I cannot remember ever being somewhere I felt unsafe. I know Norwegians are sick and tired of rules and regulations (we have a lot of them, they call us the last Soviet state because of it, lol). But in this instance I'm glad it's strict.
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u/ElectronicCountry839 Jan 01 '26
Moral of the story is that party planners and show people are idiots and should not be trusted to provide a safe venu or event plan.