Tragic indeed.

For anyone who isn't aware of the previous fire in the US which this is being compared to, check out this http://en.wikipedia.org/...e_Station_nightclub_fire The video linked from that page, which was actually taken by someone inside the club when the fire started makes appalling watching - not for anyone of nervous disposition.

"after acoustic insulation caught fire"

Global failure to learn lessons from the past ?

Dublin Stardust Club fire (Polystyrene wall and ceiling tiles)

And HSE's latest myth busters pronouncement - keeping fire exit routes clear is not about health and safety, and (by implication) people that worry about such things are over-zealous jobsworths:

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pr...icestermercury210113.htm

I do find it interesting that although the reporters have very limited details about the incident are happy to start making accusations of panicking crowds.

There is a body of research that indicates that crowds rarely panic, even in deadly situations like this one.

Dr Chris Cocking has a good blog on this for more details...

http://dontpaniccorrecti...n-nightclub-fire-on.html

They've made 3 arrests so far - the bar owner, a member of the band and the chief of security.

Witnesses claim a fire extiguisher that was given to one of the band that didn't work so assume those hadn't been tested or inspected either if the fire certificate had expired.

Also claims that the security staff intially prevented people from leaving as they hadn't paid their bar tab (seemingly you had to pay your bar tab before you left the premises). There was also a barrier at the entrance which further restricted the exit (similar to the entrance door at The Station which had a barrier if I remember correctly).

Giving a basic H&S course to some staff on Wednesday which includes fire safety so highlights the need to check the exits are clear and know how to get out of a building and stay out pretty dramatically.

Hi Graham

This maybe the incident that you are referring to: http://www.bbc.co.uk/new...k-england-essex-20219157

richp

Thanks for your answer at #12 to my query. The fire incident started by sparks from an angle-grinding stage act at a night club in the UK early last November was the subject of the thread "Essex night club fire" on this forum at http://forum.iosh.co.uk/...spx?g=posts&t=107139 Over 1000 people were safely evacuated from the premises and just one person was injured.

However, in case anyone thinks the UK and other countries with strict fire safety legislation and enforcement can be smug about good fire safety standards, didn't much of the earlier fire legislation arise because of national public outcries about major fire tragedies? Though I'm not a fire expert I recall reading that such tragedies included ones in which numerous adults and children were trapped and suffocated by smoke from fires in theatres during Victorian and later eras. Also, remember the fire disaster (50 were killed and 80 seriously injured) at the newly built Summerland leisure/entertainment complex on the Isle of Man in 1973 - only 40 years ago.

For what it is worth...

I decommissioned a night club here in Swansea a few years back (less than 10). It fell to me to remove most of the electrical equipment and make-safe what was left in order to maintain an electrical supply for the incoming contractors to use during refurbishment. If you could have seen the state of the electrical system in use when the place was full of people drinking their way into the night you would have been stunned to say the least. The place was a shambles, a death trap! How was it left to run like this?

When working at the Vale of Glamorgan I was called in to investigate a problem within a night club. The environmental people had received a complaint from a member of the public as I recall. It may have been a routine visit by environmental. One of the problems (and there were more the 10 dangerous ones - code 1)- concerned a three phase distribution board located behind the bar. It had its cover held on with string. The cover being held from the board at a distance of 75mm by the wiring. The mcb's were used to switch lighting and finger had to be poked through the enclosure to operate them. Socket outlets handing by the conductors etc.

It is all well and good crying when people are slaughtered but I ask 'How come our night clubs are able to operate in this way?

I thought they had to be inspected by the fire department but I don't suppose that they look at the electrical systems too closely.

Sad to say that a lot of electrical inspection and testing is carried out by clowns with no formal qualifications, employed by companies that care for little other than profit. (Emma Shaw springs to mind yet again).