By Elizabeth Grady
Promotions Editor
Waiting in line outside the OP or the Burton on a night with sub-zero wind chill can have a different mind-numbing effect than students may have been searching for.
However, weekend complaints about lines by bar and concert-goers around the world should be permanently shushed as news broke of another heavily over-capacitated club bursting into flames.
A blaze at Kiss night club in Santa Maria, Brazil on Sunday left 234 dead and 118 more hospitalized, according to a Jan. 29 CNN article. How does something like this happen to party-goers?
Kiss night club had an expired license permitting 691 at full capacity — at the time of the inferno, the club was packed with 2,000 people. Not only did the club have an expired license and an utter disregard for numbers, it also reportedly had “fake and faulty” fire extinguishers, according to the same article.
Fire safety and regulations aren’t something to be taken lightly. Ignoring them is moronic because they are something which can be so easily abided by and practiced.
If you think something like this could never happen here in the U.S., think again. In 2003, 100 were killed and another 200 injured after a fire blazed through a Rhode Island night club, according to a Jan. 27 CBS article.
Club owners and managers need to prioritize. Yes, making a profit is important, but the safety of their attendees needs to be their number one priority. Kiss club owners remain in custody along with the performing band’s vocalist and the show’s producer.
The exact spark of the fire remains under investigation, but Santa Maria Police think it could have been the result of an outside firework being set off during the pyrotechnics display, according to the CNN article. Maybe it’s just me, but the term indoor firework sounds like an oxymoron. While taking a hard look at fire regulations, the use of pyrotechnics indoors for any source of entertainment should be reconsidered.
Along with this other changes should be made. If a concert is going to be held in a club, there should be size requirements for the facility. Additionally, there should be a required number of trained security to direct party-goers if a dangerous situation were to occur.
In order to prevent clubs from operating on expired licenses, they should be automatically shut down upon expiration. Undercover fire marshals should monitor the capacity requirements at bars to make sure clubs are obeying the rules.
As a 5-foot-2 self-diagnosed claustrophobic, I’ve never been a big fan of crowds. Combine this with a fear of fire and stampedes; I know I’ll be more conscious of the exits at a crowded bar. Bar and concert-goers need to respect facility owners before complaining about a wait.
