The Collectiv Club Fire

What looks like a pyrotechnic explosion and fire at the Collectiv Club in Bucharest has killed 27 and injured 155.

http://ift.tt/1P25Wnw

I'm reminded of Cocoanut Grove and The Station fires based on the apparent ignition source and the lack of escape exits (there were two, one of which was apparently inaccessible).

From the BBC link:

Quote:

Reports suggest the cause of the blaze may have been fireworks that were let off inside the club. Witnesses said a spark on a stage where a band was performing ignited some of the polystyrene decor. A pillar and the club's ceiling caught fire and there was an explosion and heavy smoke, they added. "People were fainting, they were fainting from the smoke. It was total chaos, people were trampling on each other," Victor Ionescu, who was at the club, told local TV station Antena 3. Up to 400 people may have been inside the club, which was hosting a free rock concert. Local journalist Sorin Bogdan told the BBC the club was in a converted former factory with two small exit doors, only one of which was possible to open initially.

I noticed news of the fire as trending on Facebook, one of the links somehow mentioning that it was Friday prayers for Muslims...now I know that Roumania is one of the countries that has resisted letting in many refugees (less than 1500 from what I can tell).

I worry that this will fuel xenophobia in Europe with that mindset, even when it's clear as day at least at face value that this had nothing to do with anything but a disregard for fire safety.

via International Skeptics Forum http://ift.tt/1M1VXZs