Brazil nightclub fire: Security guards locked doors, no paid tab, no escape

The Brazil nightclub fire took the lives of 233 people because nightclub security guards locked the exit doors when the fire began so people would not leave the nightclub without paying, reports Santa Maria’s local newspaper Diario de Santa Maria on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013.

“Jovens e pessoas que conseguiram escapar do incêndio da boate Kiss relataram às autoridades pessoais que, no momento do incêndio, alguns seguranças teriam tentado impedir a saída das pessoas. De acordo com relatos de jovens, os seguranças teriam trancado as portas por entender que o grande fluxo de jovens tentando escapar, teria como objetivo sair sem pagar. Os proprietários da boate não foram localizados para explicar se o fato teria ocorrido.”

Approximate translation: “Young people, who were able to escape the Kiss nightclub fire, reported to authorities personally that at the time of the fire some security guards tried to prevent people from leaving. According to the report by the young people, the security guards locked the doors so that the great amount of young people trying to escape could not leave without paying. The owners of the nightclub have not been located yet in order to explain what happened.“

One of the survivors of the Brazil nightclub fire, Edi Paul Garcia, said that the nightclub Kiss had only one exit. Most of the victims, 90%, were found in the nightclub’s two bathrooms and included both male and female victims. Also according to Edi Paul Garcia, most of the victims died by “asphyxia” due to the strong fumes and smoke or because they were trampled.

In regard to the cause of the Brazil nightclub fire in Santa Maria, 20-year-old Ingrid Goldani, who worked at the club for 45 days, said that two bands performed that night. The fire began after one of the band members shot a flare and set a part of the ceiling on fire. The fire engulfed the nightclub within three minutes.

“De acordo com Ingrid Goldani, 20 anos, que trabalhava na boate há 45 dias, o fogo teve começo depois que um integrante de uma banda — durante a noite, duas bandas se apresentaram — acendeu uma espécie de sinalizador que acabou por incendiar parte da estrutura do palco. Segundo ela, o fogo teria tomado conta da boate em cerca de três minutos.”

According to the Brazil nightclub employee, the band members tried to extinguish the fire first with water. When that failed, they tried the fire extinguisher but it was unclear whether they knew how to handle the fire extinguisher.

“Só sei que foi tudo muito rápido.” – Everything went so fast, said the Brazil nightclub employee.

Santa Maria, where the Brazil nightclub fire took place around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday morning, is a major university city with a population of around a quarter of a million. Santa Maria’s nightclub Kiss is a popular place among university students. While the Brazilian nightclub has a capacity of 1,000 to 2,000 partygoers, some sources estimate that the nightclub was either filled at its maximum capacity or even beyond its maximum capacity.

A list of the victims of the Brazil nightclub fire is being provided by Brazil’s State Government and published by the Department of Public Safety. So far, 141 names have been confirmed.

“According to the Department of Safety, the list is updated every hour until the 233 bodies are identified. The identification is being done by relatives and friends in the Municipal Sports Centre.”

A list of the victims of the Brazil nightclub fire can be seen on Diario de Santa Maria’s victim list website. As of Sunday night, the government has published the names of 231 victims that were killed during the Santa Maria nightclub fire.

To see a list of the injured victims in the Brazil nightclub fire and to find out in which hospital they are, click here.

To read the stories told by some of the survivors of the Brazil nightclub fire, click here.

To view a slideshow provided by Diario de Santa Maria, click here.

Update: Diario de Santa Maria informs that the Kiss nightclub is located "in Andradas Street, in the city center in the Central Region." The nightclub Kiss used to host parties and concerts for the public university in the region. The fire prevention permit expired in August 2012.

The Minister of Health confirms that 80 people remain in serious condition after the Santa Maria nightclub fire.

To see photos and read about the lives of the 231 victims of the Brazil nightclub fire, please visit Diario de Santa Maria's photo page.

More articles by this author…

Money/Shopping: