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Pyrotechnics Blast Kills 103 in Russian Nightclub
MANSUR MIROVALEV
Associated Press Writer
PERM, Russia — Panicked clubgoers crushed each other to death in a popular Russian nightspot as they tried to flee a fast-moving fire that one eyewitness told The Associated Press was started by pyrotechnic fountains set up on the stage.
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Officials said 103 people died when the fire tore through the popular Lame Horse nightclub in the city of Perm late Friday, filling the crowded barracks-like building with thick black smoke. Authorities said they arrested the registered owner of the club and the manager.
Officials said the club managers ignored repeated demands from authorities to change the club's interior to comply with fire safety standards. "They have neither brains, nor conscience," Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said, urging a tough punishment for the culprits.
Officials said most of the dead suffocated or were crushed at the exit.
"The fire spread very quickly," said Marina Zabbarova, chief investigator for the local prosecutor's office. "Panic arose which led to a mass death of people."
News footage shot later outside the Lame Horse showed charred bodies lying in rows on the ground amid a light snowfall. Rescue workers carried bodies on stretchers into waiting vans.
Svetlana Kuvshinova, who was in the nightclub when the blaze broke out, told the AP it started after three fireworks fountains spewed sparks, igniting the plastic ceiling.
"The fire took seconds to spread," she said. "It was like a dry haystack. There was only one way out. They nearly stampeded me."
Another clubgoer said panic spread quickly through the crowd.
"There was only one exit, and people starting breaking down the doors to get out," said a woman who identified herself only as Olga, smeared with soot and wearing a filthy fur coat. "They were breaking the door and panic set in. Everything was in smoke. I couldn't see anything."
A video recorded by one of the clubgoers and run by Russian television stations showed flames engulfing the ceiling decorated with willow twigs as a host shouted in a casual tone: "Ladies and Gentlemen, guests of the club, we are on fire. Please leave the hall!"
People reluctantly and slowly began heading toward the exit, some of them turning back to look at the burning ceiling, but then rushed away in panic as flames quickly spread around seconds later.
Authorities set about identifying bodies Saturday morning, as ambulances delivered some of the more than 130 injured to planes waiting at the airport, where they were being evacuated to Moscow hospitals.
Medical authortities said nearly 90 of the injured were in critical condition.
Firefighters were on the scene in downtown Perm one minute after the alarm was called in, the Emergency Situations Ministry said, and they took less than an hour to put the fire out.
Zabbarova, the top investigator, said that there was no suspicion of a terrorist attack.
Russia has been on edge since last week's bombing of the high-speed Nevsky Express passenger train midway between Moscow and St. Petersburg, which killed 27 in the first deadly terrorist attack outside Russia's restive Caucasus republics since 2004. Chechen rebels claimed responsibility for the blast.
Perm, a city of around 1 million people, is about 700 miles (1,200 kilometers) east of Moscow in the Ural Mountains.
Enforcement of fire safety standards is notoriously lax in Russia and there have been several catastrophic blazes at drug-treatment facilities, nursing homes, apartment buildings and night clubs in recent years.
Medvedev, who summoned top officials to report on the fire and rescue efforts, urged changes in the law to toughen punishment for violation of fire safety standards.
Russia records nearly 18,000 fire deaths a year, several times the per-capita rate in the United States and other Western countries. Nightclub fires have killed thousands of people worldwide.
Ten people died when an entertainer's clothing was ignited during a so-called "fire show" at a Moscow club in March 2007.
In February 2008, a fire in the Golden Rock nightclub in the Siberian city of Omsk killed four people. Officials said the blast might have been caused by natural gas.
A nightclub fire in the U.S. state of Rhode Island in 2003 killed 100 people after pyrotechnics used as a stage prop by the 1980s rock band Great White set ablaze cheap soundproofing foam on the walls and ceiling.
Associated Press Writers Douglas Birch, Jim Heintz and Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to this report.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Associated Press Writer
PERM, Russia — Panicked clubgoers crushed each other to death in a popular Russian nightspot as they tried to flee a fast-moving fire that one eyewitness told The Associated Press was started by pyrotechnic fountains set up on the stage.
Related
- RiaNovosti: Dozens in critical condition after Russian nightclub fi...
- BBC: Russian Nightclub Fire, Photos
Officials said the club managers ignored repeated demands from authorities to change the club's interior to comply with fire safety standards. "They have neither brains, nor conscience," Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said, urging a tough punishment for the culprits.
Officials said most of the dead suffocated or were crushed at the exit.
"The fire spread very quickly," said Marina Zabbarova, chief investigator for the local prosecutor's office. "Panic arose which led to a mass death of people."
News footage shot later outside the Lame Horse showed charred bodies lying in rows on the ground amid a light snowfall. Rescue workers carried bodies on stretchers into waiting vans.
Svetlana Kuvshinova, who was in the nightclub when the blaze broke out, told the AP it started after three fireworks fountains spewed sparks, igniting the plastic ceiling.
"The fire took seconds to spread," she said. "It was like a dry haystack. There was only one way out. They nearly stampeded me."
Another clubgoer said panic spread quickly through the crowd.
"There was only one exit, and people starting breaking down the doors to get out," said a woman who identified herself only as Olga, smeared with soot and wearing a filthy fur coat. "They were breaking the door and panic set in. Everything was in smoke. I couldn't see anything."
A video recorded by one of the clubgoers and run by Russian television stations showed flames engulfing the ceiling decorated with willow twigs as a host shouted in a casual tone: "Ladies and Gentlemen, guests of the club, we are on fire. Please leave the hall!"
People reluctantly and slowly began heading toward the exit, some of them turning back to look at the burning ceiling, but then rushed away in panic as flames quickly spread around seconds later.
Authorities set about identifying bodies Saturday morning, as ambulances delivered some of the more than 130 injured to planes waiting at the airport, where they were being evacuated to Moscow hospitals.
Medical authortities said nearly 90 of the injured were in critical condition.
Firefighters were on the scene in downtown Perm one minute after the alarm was called in, the Emergency Situations Ministry said, and they took less than an hour to put the fire out.
Zabbarova, the top investigator, said that there was no suspicion of a terrorist attack.
Russia has been on edge since last week's bombing of the high-speed Nevsky Express passenger train midway between Moscow and St. Petersburg, which killed 27 in the first deadly terrorist attack outside Russia's restive Caucasus republics since 2004. Chechen rebels claimed responsibility for the blast.
Perm, a city of around 1 million people, is about 700 miles (1,200 kilometers) east of Moscow in the Ural Mountains.
Enforcement of fire safety standards is notoriously lax in Russia and there have been several catastrophic blazes at drug-treatment facilities, nursing homes, apartment buildings and night clubs in recent years.
Medvedev, who summoned top officials to report on the fire and rescue efforts, urged changes in the law to toughen punishment for violation of fire safety standards.
Russia records nearly 18,000 fire deaths a year, several times the per-capita rate in the United States and other Western countries. Nightclub fires have killed thousands of people worldwide.
Ten people died when an entertainer's clothing was ignited during a so-called "fire show" at a Moscow club in March 2007.
In February 2008, a fire in the Golden Rock nightclub in the Siberian city of Omsk killed four people. Officials said the blast might have been caused by natural gas.
A nightclub fire in the U.S. state of Rhode Island in 2003 killed 100 people after pyrotechnics used as a stage prop by the 1980s rock band Great White set ablaze cheap soundproofing foam on the walls and ceiling.
Associated Press Writers Douglas Birch, Jim Heintz and Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to this report.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Fireyladd - Retired Chief Sharp on
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Another preventable catastrophe. Sad!
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Permalink Reply by Sean McAdoo on
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A tragedy such as this, especially being so nearly identical to the Station Nightclub fire, was wholly preventable. Unfortunately, I don't know the status of Russia's building codes or code enforcement. Perhaps they have similar codes, or perhaps they have not paid attention to the loss of life -- 18,000 fire deaths a year tells me they don't seem to care about the loss of life. If they don't care about the loss of life, then codes probably are not what they are in the US.
Unfortunately, codes are only written when tragedy points out a flaw in public safety -- indoor pyrotechnics were not a major concern until the Station Nightclub fire; door swing and egress components not a concern until after Cocoanut Grove; etc.
People are so quick to judge "follow the money" -- but as a code enforcement officer, I can tell you it's more often follow where the money ISN'T. Politicians don't want to spend the money to pay for enough inspectors to do the job. It's expensive and until it happens in their jurisdiction, they figure they are immune to tragedy. It's no different then their argument that they can cut firefighters because they haven't seen any fires lately. We all know it's not if, it's a matter of when.
If a smart man learns from his mistakes, and a wise man learns from others, what can you say about people who ignore what goes around them?
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Permalink Reply by Russell Yount on
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John (and others), you brought up an important point that reminds me of the residence hall fire at Seton Hall University several years ago. Even though the death toll was much lower (3), one aspect of that fire was that the building had a history of false fire alarms. I'm not sure if this was a system malfunction or people pulling the pull stations as a prank, but either way, many people didn't pay attention to the alarm.
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Permalink Reply by Raymund Niere on
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very similar to what happened here in the Philippines a couple of years ago... very sad that this kind of incedent keeps occuring over and over again...
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Permalink Reply by Art "ChiefReason" Goodrich on
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How many people do you think delayed their exit so that they could get video on their cell phones?
How can anyone with a brain see fire rolling across the ceiling, acrid smoke banking down and heat increasing and not realize IMMEDIATELY that there is a problem?
Also notice that there is no such thing as "women and children first". It's survival of the fittest mentality.
Instinct? Nope. That kind of behavior is taught and reinforced.
We live in a very sick society where property owners don't care about your safety. They only care about money.
That person standing next to you could care less if you don't know what to do in case of an emergency.
And most disturbing is that you have public safety officials who believe that it isn't THEIR emergency.
Again; I will ask: what the hell has happened to our humanity?
TCSS.
Art
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Permalink Reply by David Rushe on
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I was just thinking the same.
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Permalink Reply by Jessica Travis on
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this is just horrible... they need to have a better enforcement of these things to help save lives... i guarantee the people in there did not know they were walking into a death trap
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Permalink Reply by César León on
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Once again a bunch of ignorants who just think about money!!!!!....Remembers me a similar incident that happened in Quito-Ecuador.
My deepless sorry to the familes....
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