Investigators scrutinise flammable soundproofing foam after a Swiss ski resort bar fire killed 40 people on New Year’s Eve
CRANS-MONTANA: The soundproofing foam covering a Swiss ski resort bar’s ceiling is the focus of a deadly fire investigation.
Forty people died when the Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana caught fire around 1:30am on New Year’s Eve.
Lead prosecutor Beatrice Pilloud said the leading hypothesis involves sparklers or Bengal candles on champagne bottles.
She stated these were lifted too close to the basement ceiling, potentially igniting the blaze.
One social media video showed the low foam-covered ceiling catching alight as revellers danced.
“The investigation is indeed focusing on the installation of this foam,” Pilloud told reporters.
She said investigators must determine if the material was compliant and if it caused the fire.
French fire expert Freddy Rigaux said the foam corresponds to “easily, even very easily, flammable” products.
He stated it clearly did not meet the M1 fire-resistance standards required for public buildings in France.
Rigaux explained M1-rated materials degrade under heat but do not produce flames or flaming droplets.
Untreated soundproofing foam allows fire to spread very rapidly, the expert added.
Another expert, Romain Amisse, said fumes from burning foam are toxic, especially in confined spaces.
He compared the tragedy to the 2016 Cuba Libre bar fire in Rouen, France, which killed 14 people.
David Zenouda, a hotel and catering industry vice-president, called the foam use “inconceivable”.
He told AFP proper soundproofing uses specific materials like plasterboard, tar paper and rock wool.
Zenouda said the method used appeared equivalent to material for media booths, not public venues.
The danger was the same as covering a venue with highly flammable nylon sheets, he concluded.
