A Cautionary Tale From Brazil
Monday, January 28, 2013 at 12:01AM Friends, there was tragedy in Brazil yesterday. A massive fire at the Kiss nightclub left 233 dead and scores more injured. Most of the victims died from asphyxiation and smoke inhalation. Authorities think the fire was started by pyro from a band's stage show.
The Kiss club is located in Santa Maria, Brazil, near the Uruguayan and Argentine borders.
We've been here before, haven't we? Some witness reports say the main door was locked when the fire started. Others say that wasn't the case. (There are reports that some security guards didn't know what was going on and many thought people were skipping out on their bar tabs.) At any rate, there were not enough exists to handle the over-capacity crowd at the club and panic set in. Many were trampled while trying to escape. Others couldn't escape because a pile of bodies blocked their way. Fire officials say that the fire was so big and spread so fast, there was little they could do to stop the blaze.
The singer of Gurizada Fandangueira shot a flare from a machine called Sputnik which allegedly started the blaze. According to Billboard, the band is known for its pyro show. The band's accordion player was killed in the blaze.
The use of pyro in a closed space was not permitted in the Kiss club. The club's operating license was expired.
This is a cautionary tale for all of us. 1) When you go to a see a band in a club, take 10 seconds and locate all the exits. Remember: a crowd in a panic will always run for the door of original entrance. If you know all the exists, you have options. 2) If a band starts shooting off pyro in an enclosed space (or something else as equally dangerous/stupid), leave. 3) If you go in to a club, see that it is packed to the brim and there's no space to move, consider hanging out by the door. 4) Finally, discuss with your friends that if something goes down, you all head for the exists. Don't wait for each other. Just get out. This advice might seem insane, but these are rules I live by after The Station/Great White disaster of 2003. This Brazil fire will only make me more vigilant.
Reader Comments (8)
That day is etched in my memory for many reasons - some i try not to think about.
Great tips on the post.
Jack, after you tried to get some publicity by attempting to donate to the Station Fire Fund & were rebuffed, Here's a suggestion. Take that same potential donation you were planning, & ANONYMOUSLY donate it to whatever fund is set up for the victims of this fire. DON'T seek any other publicity from it, just give. 365 days from now, you can mention that you did so. I'll have a lot more respect for you at that point."
I feel so sorry for the victims of BOTH of these club fire tragedies. R.I.P. to those that didn't make it.
It's a similar situation with Benghazi on 9/11. How come there couldn't be some situational awareness in place regarding the necessity for heightened vigilance at our facilities throughout the globe every year on that date?
Hopefully, as more and more caution such as Allyson's words of wisdom can be more readily shared as world citizen's become increasingly connected through social media, the possibility of tragedies such as these occurring will be greatly diminished.
Thank you, Allyson, and the others here, for speaking to this awful tragedy and the other horrible events it conjures in our collective psyches.
Let us all be ready to not only enjoy the show, but also be cognizent that random disaster can strike at any moment, anywhere and appreciate the value of advice like Allyson's to keep us in a place of mental preparedness should such incidents happen.
Ace: Such great advice for Jack Russell. What a legacy Russell would leave if we were to found out he made such donations like those you suggest, anonymously, throughout his life.
And I want to be charitable to Russell, since he is going to be pulled into this discussion because of its closeness (in time) to the anniversary of the Station fire and proximity (in tragedy) to the KISS nightclub disaster.
Publicizing it was likely meant to draw in more fans and more money. I realize some people hold him responsible (the conflicting sides sling a lot of unnecessary pain at each other). But he, after waffling from his management, did respect the organization's wishes and re-frame the event.
I also understand the reasoning behind the organization's desire to have him not be associated with them. But I think the messages they sent (if not the first, then the second) came across as petty even if the emotions were true.
Russell hasn't always been a stand-up guy. But I think he handled the situation well and was trying to simply give back . . . as much for the pain of the victim's families as for the regret that continues to haunt him.
Just my two cents.
On a whole, Russell has been genuinely contrite and dealing with the stigma of the horrific tragedy that occurred that fateful night at The Station, at least publicly, now, at any rate. I imagine, he'll never get over it, given the general sensitivity of true artists, no matter how much they may try to hide it.
How could Russell ever get completely over it, the whole "Why, why, why???" of it all.
And, though he's definitely f*cked up, at times, quite literally, I do believe ultimately, through the spectre of Rock and Roll History, he will be thought of as a true artist, though his name will always be intrinsically linked to The Station tragedy for eternity.
Ace got it right. Russell should make an anonymous donation to those who suffered in Brazil, no matter how small it is, given how little he actually probably makes on what could only be summed up as the equivalent of a Hair Metal modern day Chittlin' Circuit.