Brazil is devastated by the death of 232 people in a nightclub in Santa Maria. The club Kiss was lit up by a pyrotechnic issue when the flare accidentally came into contact with the ceiling, thus causing the ceiling to collapse. There were rumors that many people were unable to escape because of the locked main doors, but Lucas Cauduro Peranzoni, the DJ of the club, denied the accusations. He explained that after inhaling even a small amount of smoke, he became woozy and collapsed by the doors. Luckily, Peranzomi was rescued by the guards at the front door. Many of the people at the club that night were locals from the university. After inhaling so much smoke, most collapsed and were unable to escape. Santa Maria locals helped drag people out and are now volunteering in search and rescue parties where more people and bodies are found. This fire is sadly not the first. "A welding accident reportedly set off a Dec. 25, 2000, fire at a club in Luoyang, China, killing 309. At least 194 people died at an overcrowded working-class nightclub in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2004. A blaze at the Lame Horse nightclub in Perm, Russia, broke out on Dec. 5, 2009, when an indoor fireworks display ignited a plastic ceiling decorated with branches, killing 152" (Bevins). There have been petitions that are trying to ban the use of pyrotechnics indoors, but what there should be is a better escape route that will help the people not only during fire hazards, but other disasters like earthquakes.
Los Angeles Times
Vincent Bevins
January 27, 2013
http://www.latimes.com/news/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-brazil-club-fire-may-have-been-started-by-flare-20130127,0,7314817.story
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