Russia Nightclub Fire: Fire Safety Lapse Claims over a Hundred Lives

The News

Russia is still coming to terms with its most deadly fire since Soviet times after 109 people died and more than 130 were injured in a blaze at a packed provincial nightclub on December 4, 2009. The fire started when a performance artist threw pyrotechniques too high and burnt the ceiling which quickly ignited the walls. The Lame Horse club, where the disaster occurred, was celebrating its eighth anniversary on the day.

One of the fireworks, tossed into the air and intended to be caught, hit the plastic covering of the ceiling, igniting the explosive. The decorative woven twigs affixed to the walls and ceiling also caught fire, filling the building with smoke. Panic gave way to a stampede when many patrons found themselves cut off from one public exit, management having sealed off other doors and the public unaware of emergency exits behind the stage.

Fire Safety: Why & How

Clearly, the Lame Horse Club owners had been callous about this aspect of safety, given that Russia’s Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu stated that the owners had been fined twice in the past for breaking fire safety regulations.

However, “Fire Safety” is not just a fancy term, and the implementation process not as complicated as is made out to be; there are some key elements of the process which can be easily adhered to.

• Building a facility in accordance with the version of the local building code

• Maintaining a facility and conducting oneself in accordance with the provisions of the fire code. This is based on the occupants and operators of the building being aware of the applicable regulations and advice.

Examples of these include:

• Not exceeding the maximum occupancy within any part of the building.

• Maintaining proper fire exits and proper exit signage (e.g., exit signs pointing to them that can function in a power failure)

• Placing and maintaining fire extinguishers in easily accessible places.

• Properly storing/using, hazardous materials that may be needed inside the building for storage or operational requirements (such as solvents in spray booths).

• Prohibiting flammable materials in certain areas of the facility.

• Periodically inspecting buildings for violations, issuing orders to comply and, potentially, prosecuting or closing buildings that are not in compliance, until the deficiencies are corrected or condemning it in extreme cases.

• Maintaining fire alarm systems for detection and warning of fire.

• Obtaining and maintaining a complete inventory of firestops.

• Ensuring that spray fireproofing remains undamaged.

• Maintaining a high level of training and awareness of occupants and users of the building to avoid obvious mistakes, such as the propping open of fire doors.

• Conducting fire drills at regular intervals throughout the year.

Practical Application



An example of how following these rules could have proved a life-saver in the Lame Horse lies in the fact that most victims died from smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning. There are fireproofing devices available that cut off not just the fire itself but even the radiant heat that emanates from it, as also the smoke and gases that are just as deadly. And in a place like a nightclub where the aesthetics imparted by tasteful and expensive interior décor is just as important as safety, fire resistant glass which offers this kind of protection is now abundantly available. Fire doors that are thoroughly tested for fire resistance and also adorn building interiors with their seemingly delicate appearance are one of the best choices for this purpose.

Also, it is important that a fire exit door opens towards the outside (persons trapped inside must be able to open the door by pushing and not pulling it). In the past, there have been cases where victims have died not because of the fire itself but thanks to a stampede caused by large numbers of people rushing towards the fire exit door at the same time, making it impossible for the door to be pulled open.

NOT an option

Russia records up to 18,000 fire deaths a year, several times the per-capita rate in the United States and other western countries; worldwide, nightclub fires have killed thousands of people. Another similar accident anywhere in the world will only establish deliberate carelessness by responsible authorities, because as is abundantly clear, fire safety is neither complicated nor expensive; not as compared to a human life anyway.

Fire Safety: Is Your Glass Fire Resistant? Another Wake-up Call

Yet another fire accident, still a lot left to chance rather than appropriate safety measures. The fire that broke out on Tuesday morning in the cafeteria of the Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTS) office at Kolkata once again drove home this point. An apparent gas leak is said to have started the fire, injuring two cooks and causing considerable damage to assets.

Police said gas that leaked from a cylinder caused the fire at around 9.40 am when one of the cooks, Chandrasekhar, was apparently pushing the cylinder below the kitchen table. Both burners of the oven had already been lit. With the regulator removed and gas leaking freely, the flames spread from the burners in a flash, injuring Chandrasekhar.

The obvious learning is that gas cylinders must never be handled carelessly. A suspended regulator is a recipe for disaster. Apart from this, measures to control and restrict fire in case it breaks out must also be taken.

Extinguishing is usually the reactive action that is deployed in case of a fire accident. But insulation could be the smarter thing to do. Different kinds of fire-resistant substances are abundantly available, but if aesthetics, visibility as well as fire security are to be taken care of, then fire-proof glass would be the ideal solution. With functionalities such as cutting out the fire itself, smoke, gases and even radiant heat, fire resistant glass has almost no equivalent substitute.

The usage of the right type of glass could be a life-saver too. For instance, fortunately wired glass (glass laced with very sharp and fine strands of steel) had not been used to glaze the kitchen exteriors. Had that been the case, rescue teams would have found it extremely difficult to enter the premises.

Be it the use of a fire-resistant glass or some other fire-retardation substance, the point is that fire safety is not an option and that we need to wake up to it, and soon.