68 seconds. Reenactment of the tragedy in Switzerland / Big problems with the evacuation of the bar

Switzerland is marking a day of national mourning today for the dozens of victims, most of them teenagers, of the devastating fire that broke out in the Crans-Montana bar on New Year's Eve. Meanwhile, more and more data is emerging about how the fire started and spread rapidly. The Swiss publication Tages-Anzeiger made a visual presentation that reconstructs the events that remind of the tragedy in Colectiv.

• 40 people, including a Romanian citizen, died as a result of the tragedy and 116 were injured.

According to the reenactment, at 1:15 a.m. local time, several fireworks attached to champagne bottles were set off in the basement bar of the Le Constellation club. A video footage shows these bottles being carried around the club at 1:17am, accompanied by chants and cheers.

At 1:26 a.m., a woman climbed onto a man's shoulders and held up two champagne bottles with fireworks attached. In doing so, she ignited the insulating material on the ceiling. This is demonstrated by the photos and videos obtained by the Swiss publication.

After the foam caught fire, the flames quickly spread to the ceiling. However, many of the partygoers seemed unaware of the danger. Most of those present continued to party and sing, filming the fire with their mobile phones.

A recording shows that 68 seconds after the fire broke out, the room was already filled with thick smoke. The guests then flocked to the stairs leading to the main exit. A deadlock has been created. Then everything happened very quickly. The fire spread in an extremely short time, and many were unable to get out.

The restaurant staff knew the foam was flammable

The presence of a highly flammable foam on the ceiling of the premises was not communicated to the authorities, according to the data from the investigation.

However, the staff had been aware of this risk for a long time. RTS published a video from New Year's Eve 2019 in which a waiter explicitly warned guests about the flammability of foam boards.

Despite this known fire hazard, the practice of lighting fireworks from bottles was apparently maintained for years until that fateful New Year's Eve.

Fireworks, banned in restaurants after the tragedy

Following the tragedy in Crans-Montana, the cantonal government of Vaud began to take measures to strengthen security in public institutions. On Friday, the Swiss publication Swissinfo announced that the use of pyrotechnic devices would be banned in bars, nightclubs and restaurants and controls would be stepped up.

Swiss prosecutors summoned the bar's owners for questioning on Friday, according to Reuters. They were remanded in custody after hearings.

The owners, Jacques and Jessica Moretti, did not answer reporters' questions when they entered the Zion City prosecutor's office Friday. The couple previously said they were “overwhelmed with grief” at what happened and announced they would cooperate fully with the investigation.

“Flashover”

The devastating scale of the fire is due to a phenomenon known as “flashover”. It occurs when, in a fire with limited oxygen in a room, flammable pyrolysis gases are released. These hot gases rise and accumulate invisibly and odorlessly near the ceiling. As soon as oxygen enters through an open door, broken window or vent, these gases ignite explosively.

In a very short time, temperatures of over 1000 degrees Celsius are reached, making it almost impossible to survive even in protective suits. “Flashover” is a relatively common phenomenon in residential fires.

Escape staircase, narrowed after renovation

Fire experts point out that club disasters are usually caused by three factors:

• Inadequate escape routes delaying evacuation.
• Flammable materials: ceiling decorations or coverings accelerate the spread of fire.
• An underrated danger: Bystanders often film the small fires instead of running away immediately.

In the case of the Crans-Montana tragedy, the Swiss press points out that images and videos on social networks suggest that the vast majority of those present tried to escape the burning basement on the main staircase. For those who failed to flee fast enough, it became a death trap. After the rapid spread of the flames in the basement, they rose up the stairs like a chimney.

During renovations in 2015, the owners of the bar significantly narrowed the staircase leading from the basement. This is evidenced by photos on social networks. The old staircase was estimated to be 2 meters wide, while the new one, according to local authorities, is only 1.37 meters wide. This still complies with fire safety regulations, but only if a second escape route is also available.

A former employee of the bar said that it seemed practically impossible to evacuate numerous people on those stairs in a short time. “As soon as it got a little crowded, there were already blockages on the stairs.”

It is not clear if the second emergency exit was available

According to local authorities, the place had two emergency exits. One led to the main staircase. However, the green warning sign was not on on the night of the disaster. The second emergency exit was located on the opposite side of the room. There, a corridor led to the toilets, a small smoking room and a door to the back staircase of the building.

A cellphone video taken shortly before the fire shows an illuminated green sign above the door, similar to an emergency exit sign. It is not clear if the stairwell door was open, locked or even locked.

Those fleeing the flames reached the restaurant's ground floor via the main basement staircase, where they could access the covered terrace through a door. And it was crowded there. And there was another sticking point, as videos and photos on social media show.

One of the problems was that the door to the terrace opened inwards. Shortly after the fire broke out, only the right wing was open, not the left. Swiss fire safety regulations state: “Doors must be able to open in the direction of escape.”

To the right of the ground floor bar, there was also a door that led to the entrance of the neighboring building. It is unclear whether this door could be used on New Year's Eve.

Even after the fleeing guests reached the glass-enclosed terrace, they were still not safe. To get out, they had to go through a second door. Although this door opened in the direction of escape, it still created a blockage. Some guests broke the windows of the covered terrace to escape. Rescuers also began opening windows from the outside to rescue trapped guests.