Brazil nightclub fire investigators question owners, musicians

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Compiled by Christian Quequish

Police are questioning musicians and the owners of a Brazilian nightclub where a pyrotechnics fire killed 230 people early Sunday morning.

According to a Globe and Mail report, “witnesses said a flare or firework lit by band members started the blaze in Santa Maria … Officials at a news conference said the cause was still under investigation.”

Police investigator Sandro Meinerz  told Agencia Estado news that there is a possibility of manslaughter charges for the band members, according to the same Globe and Mail report.

Captain Mike Strapko of Toronto Fire Services told Humber News that when dealing with pyrotechnics that there should be a fire prevention person on the scene to make sure everything is safe.

“Whether it’s a movie theatre, a live performance or a sporting event, big basketball game, you need to make yourself aware of where the exits are,” Strapko said.

The nightclub, Kiss, only had one exit, NCB reported on Monday.
“Take a walk around the building, typically you’re going to want to know where the washrooms are, so you start looking for your closest exits,” Strapko said.

He added that any licensed establishment or assembly occupancy would have a permit posted somewhere visible that everybody can see – it shows the maximum amount of people that can be in that building at any given time.

“If you think a building is overcrowded, you should notify authorities, you should call the police and or fire and let them know that a place is overcrowded,” Strapko said.