Swiss fire safety under scrutiny after Crans-Montana blaze

At a press conference on Friday, Valais canton Attorney General Beatrice Pilloud said investigators were interviewing witnesses and would review video evidence to determine whether a bar that went up in flames in the early hours of 2026 had the correct fire safety procedures and emergency exits.

Officials have not said whether the bar had the two escape routes required under Swiss fire and building codes — or whether those exits were usable at the time of the fire.

Some Swiss media reports suggest that the bar's basement area may have had only one access and exit route, which could have made evacuation extremely difficult in a panic situation. However, at the press conference on Friday, Pilloud gave no further details about the number of escape routes or whether they met safety requirements.

Though Pilloud said no line of inquiry was being ruled out, she gave no details regarding the bar's safety measures. She was unable to say when the last review of safety measures at the bar was carried out and said all relevant issues were currently being investigated.

Investigators have said the fire spread extremely quickly and evacuation was chaotic, with witnesses describing people trying to escape up a narrow stairway and through a single narrow door. Some broke windows to flee.

• Most bars, clubs and restaurants with higher occupancy

• Fire risk (for example, kitchens, alcohol service, machinery)

• Whether escape routes are independent — meaning they don't all lead to the same corridor or stairwell

These focus on how buildings are designed to slow down fires and stay stable long enough for people to escape.

Buildings are split into fire-resistant sections (often called "fire cells") to stop heat and smoke from spreading too quickly.

Fire-resistant cladding, coatings and special plasterboard help delay structural collapse.

Clearly marked evacuation paths and guidance systems are meant to help people get out quickly and safely.

Furthermore, fire dampers and automatic seals in ventilation ducts prevent smoke from spreading through heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems.

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In Germany, most bars, nightclubs and music venues are required to have two escape routes.

Sandra Barz, a fire protection expert at the Technische Akademie Südwest trade school in Kaiserslautern, told the German public broadcaster ARD, that safety ultimately depends on how well these measures are implemented.

Barz said fires could intensify quickly. "A so-called flashover can occur within just three minutes," she said.

In March 2025, a fire at the Pulse nightclub in Kocani, North Macedonia, killed about 60 people after indoor pyrotechnics set flammable materials alight. Reports later pointed to inadequate escape routes and insufficient fire safety systems, which hampered efforts to evacuate the venue.

In April 2024, a fire at the Masquerade Club in Istanbul, Turkey, killed at least 29 people while the venue was closed for renovation work. The victims were mainly workers and club staff who were inside the building at the time. Investigators believe the fire was triggered by illegal welding work in the basement of a residential building. The situation was made worse by blocked escape routes and safety systems that were not functioning, In October 2023, an early-morning fire at the Fonda Milagros club in Murcia, Spain, killed at least 13 people and injured around two dozen others. The fire spread rapidly through connected club spaces, prompting serious questions about licensing practices and compliance with fire safety regulations.