I see the exit sign prominently displayed by the stair. Looking at the Trip Advisor description, there is also a terrace or patio. With the cold weather, perhaps the doors were closed or locked? I would think that since the bar is at ground level, the terrace doors would also be marked as a point of egress?
From what I can see, this is a two-floor venue. There's the street level bar area which, in the photo in the Mail, has green lighting around the main serving area. Then there's the photo of the bar area with pink lighting underneath green-lighting photo, which presumably shows the basement bar.
That is very helpful. Looking closely at the photos, I only see the one exit sign by the stair. In the cappuccino photo (which may or may not be in the basement bar), I do see one small window, and it appears to be behind the bar, with boxes in front of it, if I am interpreting the photo correctly. Of course, there may be other windows and doors that are simply not reflected in the TA photos.
In the updated Mail article it quotes a prosecutor who mentions a flashover. That would indeed explain why the whole ceiling caught fire so quickly. Unfortunately this means it's possible that the flames were funneled towards and then up the sole staircase which people were trying to escape up. This is similar to what happened in the King's Cross Fire in 1987, except that there the fire development happened the other way round, ie it was funneled up the wooden escalator first and then suffered a flashover in the ticket hall above.
"Police commander Frédéric Gisler confirmed
the fire ‘started in the basement of the bar’
and there was a crush as people desperately tried to get out
via the single staircase.
Another witness, Emma,
said the fire seemed to start after people celebrated with champagne bottles that contained candles.
'Some of the bottles were near the ceiling and it caught fire.
The whole ceiling was in flames and the fire spread really fast.
It happened in seconds.
We ran outside, screaming and crying'.
Suffocation could have been due to smoke inhalation, or to toxic fumes given off by acoustic foam. Apparently many such foams produce cyanide gas when burned.
A basement bar with a low ceiling covered in acoustic foam, and they start waving sparklers about. I mean, it beggars belief really, doesn't it.In the updated Mail article it quotes a prosecutor who mentions a flashover. That would indeed explain why the whole ceiling caught fire so quickly. Unfortunately this means it's possible that the flames were funneled towards and then up the sole staircase which people were trying to escape up. This is similar to what happened in the King's Cross Fire in 1987, except that there the fire development happened the other way round, ie it was funneled up the wooden escalator first and then suffered a flashover in the ticket hall above.
King's Cross fire - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
Suffocation could have been due to smoke inhalation, or to toxic fumes given off by acoustic foam. Apparently many such foams produce cyanide gas when burned.
RSBM
To be fair, I don't recall having seen confirmation that acoustic foam was in situ but was merely conjecturing on the basis of similar fires. Multi-floor venues like this often have a disco- or pub- type set up on one floor and a more sophisticated lounge-bar one in on another. Typically we see the disco-type set up either in a basement or on a higher floor with the more prestigious offering at street level.
Mistakes obviously were made (and responbility for the lack of safety will be determined), but it is also true that it was an accident.
