Murder charges are being sought against the owners of a nightclub in Brazil where 241 people died following a massive blaze.
Investigators are also seeking murder charges against the band that was playing at the time, who allegedly lit a flare that led to the deadly inferno.
The Associated Press reports that investigators are also interested in pursuing charges against the mayor and fire chief of Santa Maria due to the sub-standard level of fire safety inspections that may have led to the death toll being so high.
However, the mayor can only be charged by the supreme court as he is an elected official, while the fire chief comes under the jurisdiction of the military.
Meanwhile, city officials who granted the club’s operating permit are expected to be charged with manslaughter in a case that could see up to 16 people implicated in the events that led to the January blaze.
Broken fire extinguishers, one fire exit, and a windowless room all apparently conspired to lead to a deadly mix of toxic fumes filling the overcrowded room, believed to have contained around 1,200 people in a club designed to hold 700.
The BBC reported that witnesses saw the singer of the band holding a flare or firework on stage, and also saw him and a security guard trying to extinguish the blaze with a faulty fire extinguisher. In scenes reminiscent of the Station Nightclub fire a decade ago, witnesses described security guards initially blocking the exit.
Legislative reform
Reports suggest that Brazil’s Congress is set to introduce new legislation to improve general health and safety and fire standards in the country ahead of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Olympics.
Congressman Paulo Pimento said that new legislation will be introduced before the tournament commences next summer. He explained that existing local rules were part of venue owners considerations when they picked a location:
“If legislation in one place requires less rigid measures against fire, for instance, it becomes cheaper to stage an event there and they will opt for that.”
This explains why police are seeking convictions against the fire chief and mayor in Santa Maria, as it could be perceived that there was a more relaxed approach to fire safety in the municipality that the nightclub owners took advantage of.
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In the UK a lot is made of the excessive Health & Safety and Fire Safety regulations and legislation! This tragic blaze is proof that the levels of legislation in the Uk is about right!
I would like to think that fires of this magnitude would never be allowed to happen in the UK!
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It is a good idea to hold officers such as the mayor and police chief responsible for sub-standrad building codes or for allowing such unsafe conditiosn to exist.
It is imperative that fire-safety standards be elevated in the developing world. It was an eye-opener for me to see so much emphasis placed on fire-saftey in building when I came to the US as a student in early nineties!
Yeah I think I agree actually. Certainly attitudes are very different. I’d also argue that the UK is further along in development which contributes.
It’s certainly unusual to see people in office implicated directly in the events that led to a tragedy. We’ll have to wait and see whether charges against them ar eventually brought, but I’m interested to see what charges they would be.
Well…in certain conditions attributing blame on someone only palliates the rising emotions without going for long terms solution to the things. Public office holders are certainly responsible in case of ghastly infernos of such magnitude but in my view we have to see the circumstances in which the fire took place and the efforts generated to extinguish that accidential fire. Leveling murder charges against the band that was playing at the time of occurence would only help in putting noose in someone’s neck. Investigators must hear fire chief and mayor of Santa Maria to record their point of view and… Read more »
Update on this then: Four charged with manslaughter (2 of the owners and 2 of the band members) and four charged for obstructing justice, including fire officials who allegedly attempted to hide evidence that the club’s licence had expired.
As I’ve said before, the International Fire Codes are there to be used by developing nations, but there’s very very little take up.