Ten days after the Crans-Montana tragedy, where 40 people – mostly boys – lost their lives due to a fire started by sparkling candles in the Le Constellation bar, Madrid experienced a disturbingly similar scene. In the heart of the Paseo de la Castellana, inside the Fanático restaurant, a place famous for its dinner shows, a spark transformed the party into a moment of panic. The context was the now usual one: music, soft lights and customers waving flares and sparkling fountains as if it were a harmless part of the show.
But the illusion of control lasted a few moments. One of the sparkling candles handed out to customers set fire to some decorative plants near one of the exits. The flames, according to witnesses, reached several meters in height, while smoke quickly spread through the crowded room. An employee avoided the worst by putting out the fire with a fire extinguisher in a few seconds, but the unbreathable air forced the evacuation of the entire place.
The echo of a tragedy from which we have not yet learned
The parallel with Crans Montana is inevitable. There too, ten days earlier, the same type of glittering candles set the ceiling on fire and turned a nightclub into a death trap. Yet in Madrid, despite that still fresh horror, these objects were once again used as simple scenographic decoration. In videos circulating on social media, customers can be seen continuing to dance while the flames lick the decoration, a scene that seems straight out of a movie, but was dangerously real.
Fanático, opened four years ago and has become one of the most frequented venues by Madrid’s jet set, had already made spectacularity its trademark. Between torches, fire and settings designed for Instagram, the restaurant has long played with a fragile balance. This time all it took was a spark to show how subtle it was.
@elpais It was Saturday night and it seemed like a night more at Fanático, a trendy restaurant in Madrid where the front was broken between dinner and the party. We had only passed ten days after the tragedy in Suiza where 40 people died in a bar at the Crans-Montana summer station due to the fire of the techo for a Bengals, but as this unfortunate thing was like a film, the managers of the Madrid restaurant distributed the pyrotechnics among the diners, so they replaced them to the rhythm of the music. Wait until the llamas reach for the plants looking for the entrance. Luckily, an employee will grab an extinguisher and clear the fire in seconds. One of the customers held up a curtain so that it wouldn’t stop, then they went to those who had turned on EL PAÍS and other things in social circles. Some people find it. The music continues. The videos recorded the first moments of the fire in Suiza. #madrid #fire #restaurant #fanatic #noticiastiktok FERNANDO PEINADO | LUCÍA FRANCO
♬ Montagem Money – EliemiDabs & DJ ZXR0
Spain to ban sparkling candles
After the incident, the GLH Singular Restaurants group, which operates Fanático and eighteen other restaurants, announced a permanent ban on flares and any pyrotechnics in all its restaurants. The group recalled that the place was equipped with fireproof certifications and that staff training made it possible to contain the fire in about eight seconds.
But the controversies did not stop. Several customers reported chaotic management of the evacuation and the fact that they were asked to pay the bill even though the evening had ended in smoke. Meanwhile, the City of Madrid has announced that it is preparing a new ordinance to regulate or ban the use of pyrotechnics in closed spaces, filling a regulatory gap that in other regions, such as Catalonia, has already been addressed with a total ban.
The message that comes from this night of fear, however, is broader: we learned nothing from Crans Montana. As long as the flames continue to be treated as a special effect and not as a danger, every place will be able to transform itself, in a few seconds, into a new crime news headline.
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