This is not a post about Marketing strategy, but I needed to express my sorrow to my country, population of Santa Maria-RS, families, and friends of the victims.
A terrible tragedy happened in Brazil last weekend; 235 people died in a nightclub fire. This tragedy is especially bitter for me not only because it happened in my country, but because I know how the regulations are and I have been in places like Kiss nightclub many times. In Brazil it is very common to receive a card which bartenders record your tab and you are not permitted to leave without your card verified by the cashier as paid. In addition, large part of the nightclubs in college towns are fill over capacity in celebratory nights, such the begging and ending of the school year. After last Sunday 235 young adults and teenagers will not go back to their family or invest their knowledge in the development of Brazil.
A terrible tragedy happened in Brazil last weekend; 235 people died in a nightclub fire. This tragedy is especially bitter for me not only because it happened in my country, but because I know how the regulations are and I have been in places like Kiss nightclub many times. In Brazil it is very common to receive a card which bartenders record your tab and you are not permitted to leave without your card verified by the cashier as paid. In addition, large part of the nightclubs in college towns are fill over capacity in celebratory nights, such the begging and ending of the school year. After last Sunday 235 young adults and teenagers will not go back to their family or invest their knowledge in the development of Brazil.
Who should be accountable for this tragedy? Based on inspections made previous to the incident the nightclub was up to code, and could be open to the public. That means that the city government standard for safety is not strict enough since 235 people died for lack of ventilation and emergency exit in the building. In addition, the fire extinguisher didn't work when needed. Nightclub owners want to sell and have profit from tickets and drinks. With this in mind they allowed as many people in the nightclub as possible, even though possible doesn't mean safe. In addition, musicians want to be different. Clearly they didn't notice that using a pyrotechnic device in a closed and crowded nightclub would cause a problem. In addition, the ceiling was too low for a "pyrotechnic show", which is only allowed in open spaces. College kids want to have fun and be with their friends. They were not mature enough to foresee the problems until they saw the fire. Lastly, because of the Brazilian custom of paying for your card at the exit, security blocked the exit when who hadn't paid their bill wanted to leave. Security thought that there was a fight and people wanted to leave the nightclub without paying. This action resulted in the accumulation of people trying to leave at the same time where some people fell on the floor and could never get up. As of 01/28/2013 4 people were arrested: two of the owners of the nightclub and two performers whose pyrotechnics display supposedly went awry and started the blaze.
source: http://noticias.uol.com.br/cotidiano/ultimas-noticias/2013/01/30/nao-vou-entrar-em-jogo-de-empurra-empurra-diz-prefeito-de-santa-maria-rs.htmhttp://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323375204578269641832825014.html?KEYWORDS=Brazil#articleTabs%3Darticle
This story is such a tragedy. I think a lot of different aspects played a part in this story. The owners should not have exceeded the maximum capacity, exit signs were not visibly shown, not enough exits, making money was more of a priority than people's lives. The band should not have used outdoor pyrotechnics indoor...simple as that. Before I read your post I would of put blame on the security guards for not allowing people to leave but I did not know there was a payment card and that is why they were holding people back.
ReplyDeleteThis story really hits home because we have all been to clubs and bars and this could happen anywhere. We are trusting these places that they are in code with the law and every performance will abide by the rules. Like you said maybe a tragedy like this will put in effect plans for other venues so no more tragedies like this can occur.