A large fire broke out on Saturday morning, at the Bamboo club from Bucharest, around 3:30 am. When the fire started, there were over 500 people in the club. According to an interim report, 44 people, including foreigners, have come to the hospitals in Bucharest for investigations, only 5 persons remaining hospitalized until the afternoon. The representatives of the 2nd District City Hall claimed that Bamboo didn’t have an operation permit.
Fortunately, the event didn’t turn into a tragedy, in terms of victims, but the general public – still remembering the tragedy at “Colectiv” – found out something shocking: a club can organize events in Romania “by its own responsibility”, even if it doesn’t have an operation permit!
Firefighters have activated Red Plan for intervention, but their intervention was extremely hard to be performed, since the initial access of the firefighters was hampered by the fact that the street was blocked by taxis and cars.
“This morning, around 3:30 hrs, a fire broke out in a well-known Bucharest club – Bamboo – the Code Red for intervention activating. In two to three minutes, police crews arrived at the scene. Following the Bamboo Club fire, starting with 3:47 hrs, 44 persons were transported by ambulance to or reached on their own hospitals as follows: 24 persons at the Floreasca Clinical Emergency Hospital, six each at Elias Emergency Hospital and the University Emergency Hospital, five at the St. Pantelimon Clinical Emergency Hospital and three at the Colentina Emergency Hospital. At 17:00 hrs, the hospital units registered only five persons under care, as such: four persons at Floreasca Hospital and one person at St. Pantelimon Emergency Hospital. The victims transported to the medical units suffered mainly of smoke inhalation, hypothermia and bruising,” the spokesperson of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MAI), Monica Dajbog, announced in a press statement.
She added that all the measures were coordinated through the National Center for Integrated Management, which functions at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and which was immediately completed with representatives of the Health Ministry and the main structures of the MAI with relevant attributions.
“Ever since this morning, present at the MAI headquarters was Ms. Sevil Shhaideh, designated through the decision of Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu to exercise the attributions of the Prime Minister regarding the operative management of Government activities between January 18-22. The intervention activities were coordinated by the Minister of Interlan Affairs, Carmen Dan, together with Health Minister Florian Bodog, State Secretary Raed Arafat, Government General Secretary Mihai Busuioc, and the heads of other structures with competence in emergency situations intervention. The top priority of the MAI was and is saving the lives of those involved in the terrible incident,” the Ministry of Internal Affairs spokesperson mentioned.
The Bamboo Club didn’t have all the needed documents for the operation permit, stated the Vice Mayor of the 2nd District, Dan Cristian Popescu. “I believe it functioned also by the goodwill of the former authorities”, the official stated.
“I don’t know what permit it had, I know what permits it didn’t have. It didn’t have the operation permit and it didn’t have the received building permit, and that was one of the reasons for which it didn’t have the operation permit”, Dan Cristian Popescu stated.
He also stated that Bamboo Club was fined on this ground last year, and it had to be fined again for the same reason, the next step being the suspension of the activity. “Problem is that the suspension is in writing. The mayoralty has no competence to continue the approaches. When the activity is suspended, ANAF must seize the revenues of the period in which the activity is suspended”, stated the Vice Mayor.
“It had a fire action plan approved by ISU. They had the file submitted to us for the operation permit, but is wasn’t complete. They rely on this kind of things. They submit the file and they are stalling. They were fined in January. They weren’t checked by the control bodies yet”, the Vice Mayor explained.
Bucharest Mayor Firea: If a club doesn’t have a functioning permit, it should be closed
The Bucharest City General Mayor, Gabriela Firea, stated on Saturday that in case a club doesn’t have a functioning permit from the District Mayoralty of the district they are in, they should be closed.
“Fire at a club in the Capital! There are no victims, thank God! I have alerted all relevant authorities. From my point of view, in case a club doesn’t have a functioning permit from the District Mayoralty of the district they are in, as the law specifies, it must be closed. Only then will everybody understand that the laws must be respected and that nobody plays with human lives,” said the Mayor on Facebook.
Bucharest 2nd District Mayor, Mihai Mugur Toader, stated on Saturday that, in the second half of last year, Bamboo Club was fined by the District Mayoralty, yet the institution has the responsibility to issue authorization only for the public food service activity.
“At this time, after they were fined, they submitted the documentation to obtain that authorization, but it is incomplete at the moment and they were told to make the necessary additions. They were fined in the second part of last year. From what I understand, they have the documentation for fire safety authorization, they have the scenario in case of fire developed, the plan and all that’s necessary,” the Mayor mentioned for Agerpres.
Prosecutor office conducting criminal investigation regarding involuntary destruction
The Prosecutor’s Office attached to the Bucharest Tribunal is conducting a criminal investigation regarding the crime of involuntary destruction (resulting in the injury of several persons), following the fire that took place on the night between Friday and Saturday in the Bamboo Club fire.
“The investigations are conducted by two criminologist prosecutors of the Criminal Investigation Unit and police officers of the Homicide Service. In the case, the perimeter of interest was established and investigation at the scene was initiated. The continuation of this activity is influenced by the fact that the fire was not fully extinguished until now, as well as by the fact that the danger of structural collapse was not removed,” the Prosecutor’s Office attached to the Bucharest Tribunal mentioned in a release on Saturday.
According to the quoted source, the relevant institutions are requested to send all documentation regarding the club (functioning authorizations, notices, control reports).
“At the moment, hearings are conducted in view of establishing the circumstances in which the fire took place and the status of the persons admitted to hospital following the fire is being checked,” the release also shows.
Approx. 20 people, heard after the fire at Bamboo. The owner of the club, summoned for hearings
Approx. 20 people have been heard by police officers and prosecutors on Saturday, after the fire at Bamboo; Joshua Castellano, the owner of the club, will also be heard.
People heard are employees of the club and clients, some of them being foreigners. According to the statements they gave to the investigators, approx. The investigation will also establish the exact number of people from the club.
According to the quoted sources, Joshua Castellano was contacted by the investigators, but he couldn’t be found. Thus, the owner of the club has been summoned, and f he will not come, he will be summoned with a peremptory rit. The manager of the club will also be heard; he came to the Police for hearings on Saturday morning, but he was feeling ill and he was taken to the hospital, according to the same sources.
In the investigation, prosecutors requested documents related to the club from several institutions in charge, including the 2nd District City Hall, the State Inspectorate for Constructions and the Inspectorate for Emergency Situations.
An Italian tourist: I was outside and I saw large flames. I’ve lost my documents
An Italian tourist who told how he escaped from the fire was one of the heard persons by the Bucharest Police Department in the file opened after the fire at Bamboo. The man says that he lost his documents in the fire.
“I don’t remember many things, but I was outside and I saw large flames. When I was inside, I saw a lot of people coughing. I’ve also lost my documents, and I have to go back to Italy in two days. We’re tourists. Yesterday was our first day in Bucharest. We have friends who visited Bucharest two years ago and they told us to go to Bamboo. We went back there for the documents in the morning, but the Police didn’t let us enter. They said that it’s closed because the fire wasn’t extinguished yet” says Francesco, an Italian tourist.
Testimonies after the fire at Bamboo: Everybody was running desperately / I saw Colectiv before my eyes
Several young people who were in Bamboo club told how they managed to escape from the fire, one of them stating that he saw Colectiv before his eyes. Another young lady claims that she had to jump over a two-meter fence to escape of the flames.
Corina was in the club when the fire started, and she told to the investigators about the panic moments when they have been told that the building will be surrounded by flames.
“The whole building was burning after 40 minutes; we were in the courtyard, on a terrace, outdoor. People were smoking, but I don’t think this was the cause of the fire, because it was such a large fire that it couldn’t be caused by cigarettes. When lights were lit and music stopped, I heard only “get out”. Nothing could be seen inside the room. Down at our level, there was no smoke. The smoke came out on top, in the ventilation system, in the air conditioner, therefore somewhere in the ceiling. Everybody was running desperately. I was shocked, because I didn’t understand where from all the uproar came, since everybody was yelling “get out”. When the light was lit, we thought there’s a fight between men, maybe with knives. Then, somebody from behind said the club is burning. There was only a little smoke inside. Flames appeared around 20 minutes from then, they escalated indeed” Corina told after hearings.
Other two young men, discharged from the Floreasca Emergency Hospital, explained how they managed to save themselves.
“I feel as good as I can, after such a thing. It wasn’t something like Colectiv. It was the same problem, a fire in a club, a fallen ceiling, but I couldn’t say that I feel bad or that something happened to anyone. I was smoking. The smoking place at Bamboo is behind the club, on the terrace. You can’t see anything from there. We’ve been taken by surprise there. The fire started at the bar in front of the club, at the entrance in the club. There was no way to enter in the club to be able to normally get out. We had to go around the fences. They probably have emergency exits in the club, but from the smoking place you couldn’t get out. A wall to the left, a wall to the right, the lake ahead. People were screaming, I saw exactly Colectiv before my eyes. More than one year ago, I was looking the TV and no I am living it. I had to jump in the pool. These people at Floreasca acted impeccably. Maybe Colectiv had a say, too. First, you have to jump over a two-meter fence, a ladder was formed. At the beginning, people were calm, civilized. When smoke begun to came very hard in the back, at the smoking place, you couldn’t breathe, there was a terrible smoke, people started to stir. Everything turned into a big confusion, panic, screams, howls, people in the pool. It was that fear, associated also with Colectiv, that we will die here. I don’t know if there were people trapped inside. I cannot figure out what was the cause of the fire. People didn’t smoke in the club. The club was full” Bogdan Gheorghe claims.
“I was taken to the hospital by SMURD. They immediately took us from the scene. We were inside, sitting at the table, and I turned instantly and saw a flame as big as me and I tried to go to my friends to try to save ourselves. I jumped over a two-meter fence, and then we swam in the snow and we had to go somewhere at the top, on the surface. We were behind the club, trapped in the pool area, which was surrounded by a fence. The fall caused me a fracture, but I’ve also been intoxicated with smoke. Everybody was panicked, especially because we couldn’t breathe since we were drowned in black smoke. The club was full. The fire started at the first bar at the entrance. I saw only a very large flame. I saw fireworks in the club, those for the champagne. We have been very well treated, they took us in a record time, they hospitalized us, they did blood tests to us and they gave us the necessary support to recover ourselves. (…) We helped each other to get out of the club. Those who managed to jump over the fence were pulling the others who remained behind, and those from the bottom were pushing us up to help us jump. I came here almost faint. I slept, I went to infusion, everybody has been intoxicated with smoke, at least we, who remained trapped behind were intoxicated” another young lady who was in the club, Letitia Papuc told investigators, according to Mediafax.
President Iohannis: Until we understand the law is one for all, society will be in danger
President Klaus Iohannis stated in regards to the Bamboo Club fire that it seems rules and laws were broken, adding that, until there is an understanding that the law is one for all, society will always be in danger.
“In the Bucharest club fire thankfully nobody has lost their life. We have, however, passed close to another massive tragedy. Rules and laws were, it seems, broken again. Until we understand once and for all that the law is the same for all, society will always be in danger,” the head of state wrote on Facebook.
He wished fast recovery to the wounded and bid thanks to the rescuers.
MAI ordered more checks on clubs. Shhaideh asked ISC to check the clubs
The Interior Minister (MAI) ordered more checks on clubs starting on Saturday evening; the clubs will also be checked by the State Inspectorate for Constructions (ISC). The measures have been taken after the fire occurred at the Bamboo Club.
“The Minister of Internal Affairs, Carmen Daniel Dan, ordered more checks starting right from this evening, and checks in all the buildings that host activities involving large crowds. Also, the Vice PM and the Development Minister Sevil Shhaideh asked the State Inspectorate for Constructions to start a thematic control, in order to check if the corresponding laws are applied for this kind of buildings. For this, joint teams will be formed by representatives of the MAI and ISC structures” stated MAI spokesman Monica Dajbog.
Israeli Embassy representatives: Approximately 15 Israeli citizens – affected by Bamboo Fire
Approximately 15 Israeli citizens were affected by the fire that took place in the Bucharest Bamboo Club on the night between Friday and Saturday, a large part of them being admitted to hospitals in the capital with minor smoke inhalations or hypothermia, said, for Agerpres, representatives of the Israeli Embassy in Bucharest.
A part of those admitted to hospital already left the hospitals, with the rest of the Israeli citizens to be discharged on Saturday, the quoted source mentioned.
The victims of the fire were admitted to the Floreasca, Pantelimon, Elias and University Hospitals.
Representatives of the Israeli Embassy in Bucharest emphasized that none of the mentioned Israeli citizens requested consular assistance.
ISU Bucuresti-Ilfov: Fire safety certificate for Bamboo was issued in 2009
Representatives of the Bucharest Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (ISU Bucharest) mentioned on Saturday that the fire safety certificate for Bamboo was issued in 2009, upon the request of
the administrators of the Bucharest club.
“Until this moment our institution was not requested to issue a fire safety authorization, an administrative paper that is mandated by legal provisions to be obtained until the end of June 2017.
In order to check the defence against fire rules and ensure a climate of safety for occupants, prevention inspectors ran periodic checks and applied fines for identified irregularities: On May 25, 2015 – two fines, worth 5,500 lei, for improper exploitation of the electrical system and lack of fire safety certificate; November 13-20, 2015, 2 fines worth 15,000 lei for improper exploitation of the electrical system and lack of fire safety certificate; November 2016 – fine worth 2,500 lei for blocking access ways,” ISU Bucharest mentions.
According to the law, the functioning of a business with no fire safety certificate is done on the exclusive responsibility of the beneficiary, the beneficiary having the obligation to obtain this document until the end of June 2017.
The spokesperson of ISU Bucuresti, Daniel Vasile, mentioned that until the end of June 2017 the lack of fire safety certificate is noted by prevention inspectors running control actions, but, according to a Government decision, the lack of this authorization is not penalised.
Daniel Vasile added that the deficiencies noted by firemen during controls were not in the category of those which could’ve determined the closure and suspension of activity of the club.
Why clubs are operating on their own responsibility. How the law on fire safety was amended
Again on the brink of a new tragedy, the fire at Bamboo reopens the discussion on the conditions in which clubs are operating. Even today, the places where hundreds of people party each night can operate on the own responsibility of the owners, although they are not authorized for fire safety, as a result of the successive amendments of the law on fire safety, according to Gandul. This is possible after the successive amendment of the law on fires safety that led to late entering into force of strict rules. Bamboo Club didn’t requested the fire safety authorization so far, but it had an approval obtained in 2009.
The chronology of the law amendments
November 3, 2015. Right after the tragedy at the Colectiv Club, the Ponta Government issued a GEO by which it tightened the conditions for clubs’ functioning. Arrived in Parliament, it was amended, and December 31, 2016 has been established as the deadline for obtaining fire safety authorizations for the buildings and arrangements operating without this document until then.
Moreover, until obtaining the authorization, they could continue to function by “the exclusive responsibility” of the beneficiaries.
March 22, 2016. The law approving the GEO was promulgated on March 16, 2016, and on March 22 it was published in the Official Gazette.
On August 24, 2016, the Ciolos Government issued a GEO which extended the deadline until which clubs could function on the own responsibility of the owners, with six months, namely until June 30, 2017.
In the explanatory memorandum of the law, the Government justifies the measure by the fact that, “because of the desire to respect the legal term, certain documents are hastily prepared, which leads to situations of noncompliance with the requirements, so that failure to resolve some of the requests affects those beneficiaries who come from behind with new cases”. “Following the analyzes conducted, it has been found that in the 5 months until the established term will expire, namely until December 31, 2016, even the same pace of approval will be kept, not all the owners/holders of the buildings will achieve the target. To solve the showed situation, by this GEU we propose to postpone the deadline for obtaining the fire safety authorization until June 31, 2017. Although apparently the extension of the term can be perceived as a relaxation of exercising the authority in the field, we appreciate that this appearance will not cause additional risks to the current situation. From the analysis of the authorization process conducted in the first quarter of 2016, a certain awareness and commitment of the need to comply with the approval norm from the beneficiaries has been highlighted. Therefore, extending the period in which the compliance with the approval norm is made willingly will lead to the increase of the number of authorized buildings without requiring the constraint by using coercive measures. All these things contribute to the improvement of the climate of safety for users” shows the explanatory memorandum.
The GEO is still debated by the Parliament at the moment.
Colectiv Association: Nightclubs should not function without life insurance
Nightclubs and bars should not function without having life insurance, the fines issued for irregularities being too small, Colectiv Association President Eugen Iancu stated after Bucharest’s Bamboo nightclub burned to the ground.
Colectiv Association President Eugen Iancu stated that several months ago he had talks with ex-Premier Dacian Ciolos, his proposal being a mandatory life insurance policy for all nightclubs and bars in Romania, being of the opinion that the fines that the Civil Contingencies Inspectorate (ISU) issues are far too small.
“A RON 2,500 fine for a nightclub, let’s be real, that’s peanuts. I proposed the ex-premier a far simpler solution. We had a talk 2-3 months ago, but it was toward the end of his term in office, he said they would think about it. There were several Colectiv Association members and several ministers [there]. I proposed that all nightclubs, restaurants, bars in the country should be allowed to operate only when they have life insurance. The state paid and will pay a lot for what happened at Colectiv. Why shouldn’t an insurance company cover this? Any nightclub should be allowed to operate the moment an insurance company gives it the right and I assure you that that insurance company will make sure the nightclub has all the permits, otherwise it won’t be able to operate. The issue must be studied by some lawyers and introduced in the legislation as it should,” Eugen Iancu told Mediafax.
In what concerns the rescue crews’ intervention at the Bamboo nightclub fire on Saturday morning, Eugen Iancu said the authorities feared a new tragedy and he hopes they learned to intervene faster in such situations.
“They were certainly afraid. I hope ISU learned at least as much, to act faster. It was said the evacuation took seven and a half minutes (at Bamboo), at Colectiv the fire lasted one minute, after one minute nothing was burning anymore. Here they had seven and a half minutes to go outside, it was different,” Eugen Iancu added.
Raluca Turcan after Bamboo fire: Guilt belongs to a part of the Romanian state
PNL President Raluca Turcan considers that the guilt for the Bamboo nightclub fire belongs to a part of the Romanian state, “either because of inefficiency, or because of corruption.”
“Laws with fissures, enforced arbitrarily or not enforced at all! The guilt belongs to a part of the Romanian state, either because of inefficiency, or because of corruption. Romanian institutions, many of them, function anachronistically, are set in motion only by a disaster or after the press notices a backsliding,” the PNL leader wrote on Facebook on Saturday.
She emphasised that the state’s first instinct after Colectiv was “strictly a PR approach – a wave of controls and the blocking of permits.”
“A part of the state is accomplice, while another part of the state saves lives – through doctors and firefighters – when possible and when it’s not too late. The modernisation of the public system, in the sense of rendering it efficient, must be a priority for any Government. It’s dramatic to discover that the Colectiv disaster is repeatable and that some institutions are only taking note and are not doing what must be done to prevent such a disaster from being possible ever again in Romania,” Turcan concluded.
USR President Nicusor Dan: Bamboo has breached the provisions of the building permit. Abuse of office is crucial
USR President Nicusor Dan stated that Bamboo Club’s problem is that it had no building permit for the reason that it didn’t have an acceptance protocol for the building, and the mechanism of abuse of office that PSD-ALDE want to eliminate is the only control tool in this case.
“The fire at the Bamboo Club (as the one at Colectiv) reveals two issues: 1) the importance of clear administrative proceedings, including sanctions and who orders them, and 2) the importance of the mechanism of abuse of office, which the majority want to mutilate by the ordinances of these days”, the USR leader commented on Facebook.
He explained that Bamboo had no operating permit, and the 2nd District Local Police had to close the activity until the operating permit was obtained.
“Bamboo Club had no building permit because it didn’t have an acceptance protocol for the building, for the reason that the building breaches the provisions of the building permit. Here, we enter into the place of a real mafia: there are thousands of protocols that falsely attest that the building complies with the building permit, there are thousands of records in the Land Book of the buildings that falsely attest that the building complies with the authorization, and there are thousands of buildings functioning without an acceptance protocol. Those who are responsible for this are the Prefect and the Prosecutor, as well as State inspectorate for Constructions. And the proper tool is the abuse of office” Nicusor Dan explained.
He stated that if Local police is not functioning, there are two institutions who can sanction it: the Prefect and the Prosecutor.
“There is only one mechanism: the abuse of office committed by the head of the Local Police. By the proposed amendment of the Criminal Code, there will be no abuse of office if the prejudice will be lower than at least RON 200,000. Therefore, if Local Police doesn’t perform any check for one year despite its attributions, no one is responsible either in administrative or in criminal terms. Solutions are known, we propose them since many years ago, and we’ll propose them now at the Parliament level: a real control of the constructing process by centralizing the activity at the State inspectorate in Constructions (which has to take the public officers from the discipline in constructions from the Local Police departments), a single national registry for the constructions in GIS system correlated to the Land Book, including all the permits and all the acceptance protocols, a specialized section of the Prosecutor Office for crimes in constructions. Parallel solutions for operating permits” Nicusor Dan concluded.
He added that the debate in the media on the ISU permit is fair, but it’s parallel with the debate on the operating permit and building permit he referred to.
Former PM Victor Ponta: Mr. Iohannis and the “Propaganda” will ask PSD Government’s resignation again
“Will Mr. Iohannis and the ‘Propaganda’ ask PSD Government’s resignation again? Or they couldn’t make ‘people die’ this time? They will try once more… In order to establish “His” Technocrat Government again – the one who issued the GD from below”, the former PM Victor Ponta wrote on Facebook.
Ponta, whose seat at the Victoria Palace was taken by Dacian Ciolos, invoked in his post the Government’s Decision (GD) issued by the Dacian Ciolos Government, providing that “until June 30, 2017, the buildings and arrangements functioning without fire safety authorizations will have to obtain this document”, and “until the fire safety authorization will be obtained, the responsibility for the functioning of the buildings and arrangements in terms of fire safety requirement exclusively comes to the beneficiaries of the investments”.
“Iohannis is arsonist, and Romania will burn until he and the system will have the entire control “
Somebody commented on Ponta’s post: “Is it a simple coincidence, or we’ll have a fire whenever President Iohannis doesn’t like a Prime-Minister? Is he arsonist?”
“Yes! He is arsonist and Romania will ‘burn’ until Iohannis and ‘The System’ will have the entire control” answered Victor Ponta, whose Government resigned in November, 2015, after large protests in Bucharest and other cities, following the fire of October 30 at the Colectiv Club in Bucharest, because of which 64 people died and 160people have been wounded.
Liberal Senator Mario Ovidiu Oprea replied to Victor Ponta, also by a Facebook post.
“The eternal frustrated Victor Ponta publicly confirms that he didn’t pass over the moment when Romania sent him home, and the resentment he has is higher than the flames that consumed 64 lives in 2015”, he wrote.
Former IntMin Dragos Tudorache stated at Antena 3 that this GD was issued because no club could comply with the laws in 5 months, and that’s why they opted for extending the solution, although given that the Ciolos Government came to power as a result of the Tragedy at Colectiv, the normal decision was to totally and immediately prohibit any events in clubs, until they obtain all the needed documents.
Chris Terhes, the President of the Romanian Community Coalition: Colectiv and Bamboo – two fires, the same speech for Iohannis
“In November, 2015, Iohannis said that ‘people had to die’ to have the resignation of the Ponta Government. ‘If laws would have been respected and if the compliance with the regulations and laws would have been imposed, no one should have died’ Iohannis also said”, wrote Chris Terhes, the President of the Romanian Community Coalition: Colectiv and Bamboo – two fires, the same speech for Iohannis.
He also posted the video with that statement of the Romanian President, mentioning: “it’s important to see his voice and look at the end”.
“As a result of those innocent dead people, ‘his’ Government came, full of incompetents promoted by the Services, but who posed in technocrats and in Romania’s rescuers.
The Ciolos Government should have had correct EVERYTHING that the previous Governments did wrong or ignored, especially ensure that all the clubs and establishments comply with the law.
But this didn’t happen!
Today, January 21, 2017, Bamboo Club from Bucharest turned into ashes.
Several hours after the fire, Iohannis wrote on Facebook: ‘In the fire at the club from Bucharest no one lost his life, fortunately’. Maybe if somebody died, he was asking for this Government’s resignation.
Iohannis continued: ‘But we were on the brink of a new big tragedy. Rules and laws have been apparently breached. Until we’ll understand, once and for all, that the law is one for everybody, the society will always be in danger.’
Well, this should have been exactly the role of ‘Iohannis’s Government’, to ensure that the regulations and the law are respected, which, according also to Iohannis, didn’t happen.
If in November, 2015, Iohannis used the expression ‘corruption kills’, which turned into a slogan of the New Securitate’s propaganda, now the slogan will be that law must be respected, so the force institutions must be strengthen even more.
It’s also important to notice how Iohannis is already insinuating the cause of the Bamboo fire: the breach of the law, ‘apparently’. I foresee that this ‘apparently’ will disappear from the public speech, and the breach of the law, as well as the cause of the fire, will be presented as a certainty.
Until the investigation is not over, you cannot know the cause. Maybe it was a criminal action.
You should read his speech of November, 2015, speaking about protests, and make the comparison to what happens these days. The same scenario is repeating.
To take the power after Ceausescu’s fall in 1989, the Old Securitate instrumented the diversion with the terrorists, making Romanian people kill each other, while they were confiscating the state.
The Old Securitate, which meanwhile became the New one, seems to need another diversion now, to ensure itself that it doesn’t lose the power confiscated in 1989.
If a Government has resigned because other people didn’t respect the law, and by Iohannis exclusive will, a different Government that didn’t apply the law came, following the Bamboo fire and according to the criteria that were imposed to others, Iohannis should resign. ‘His’ Government was the one who didn’t apply the law at Bamboo.
Don’t let yourself be manipulated!
UPDATE: The Ciolos Government issued a GD providing that ‘until June 30, 2017, the buildings and arrangements functioning without fire safety authorization will have to obtain this document’, and ‘until the fire safety authorization will be obtained, the responsibility for the functioning of the buildings and arrangements in terms of fire safety requirement exclusively comes to the beneficiaries of the investments’” wrote Chris Terhes, the President of the Romanian Community Coalition in the end of the comment posted on Facebook.
Lawyer Catalin Dancu: Our data at this moment confirms fire was intentionally placed
Lawyer Catalin Dancu, representing the owners of the Bamboo Club, stated on Sunday, at the Bucharest Police headquarters, that the data they have at this moment confirms that the fire was intentionally placed.
“I have explained the position of the administrator on how the events took place on that evening. Prosecutors were also briefed on the protection and evacuation measures taken for the persons in the club. Our data at this moment, from the existing witnesses, confirms that the fire was intentionally placed. We will observe and the prosecutors will check the persons in the area of the former fitness hall of the club. Until 3:00 hrs there were no data. Persons unknown to the club in this area were identified,” said the attorney.
He also mentioned that over 700 persons were in the Bamboo Club at the time of the fire breaking out and they were evacuated in secure conditions in less than six minutes.
“Everything consisting in the support given by employees, who were instructed and specialized in fighting against fire from inside and in using the extinguishers, everything was made in a perfect cooperation. Besides, it was fair to be said that more than 700 people were in the club, and they have been evacuated safely in less than 6 minutes, because everybody obeyed the instructions of the staff” claimed the lawyer of the owners of the Bamboo Club.
Asked if when he claims that the fire was placed, he relies on the existence of images from the surveillance cameras, Catalin Dancu stated that this thing is required by prosecutors.
“This is what the prosecutors are asking now. We’ve also provided information related to person who we, as the working team, appreciate to be from unknown to the club. Another event was held in the ballroom near the club, where the fitness hall was. All the data lead to that direction for the start of the fire. (…) We have data because there are witnesses, employees of the club, who announced the managers that unknown people are in that area where, normally, they shouldn’t be. It’s a warehouse area, a deserted area, a fitness hall was there. Now it’s not functioning anymore” he explained.
The lawyer added that the waiters believe that those unknown persons came from the hall where the other event was taking place.
On the other hand, he said that no assertion made in the public space related to the fact that the fire was started because of smoking in the club is true.
“All the employees intervened and the persons, the clients who were smoking, were forced to extinguish their cigarettes or were evacuated. Bamboo Club holds a private place where you can smoke according to the standards. So no one needed to smoke in the club” Dancu stated.
Investigator: There’s no clue about a criminal hand in the case of the fire at Bamboo
Investigators claim that they have no clues about a criminal hand who caused the fire at the Bamboo Club in Bucharest.
“There’s no clue about a criminal hand, as it was circulated. The investigation is not started yet regarding the structure, the place from where the fire started and how it spread. After these things will be completed, we will analyze the best working hypotheses and the main version of what happened” stated the head of the Homicide Department of the Bucharest Poice, Radu Gavris, who was at the scene on Sunday, with the prosecutor of the Prosecutor Office attached to the Bucharest Court, Mihai Pruna.
The mention made by the investigators comes after the fashion designer Catalin Botezatu, former shareholder of the company operating the Bamboo Club, stated on Saturday that “the fire could be placed by somebody”, since the club had “enemies”.
“The situation of the patients is pretty clear to us. Many of the medical documents drawn up in hospitals were requested and obtained. We have requested and obtained yesterday, documents from the 2nd District City Hall, the 2nd District Local Police, the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations and from the medical units where patients have been presented or hospitalized. All these documents have to be evaluated before being able to present an information that would have the nature of a certainty” Gavris stated.
Hearings will continue in the next days in this case; the owner of the club will be also summoned.
INSEMEX Petrosani to carry out examination at Bucharest nightclub
Firefighters have not yet declared the fire that gutted the Bamboo nightclub in Bucharest completely extinguished, prosecutor Mihai Pruna, member of the Bucharest Court Prosecutor’s Office, stated on Sunday. The Petrosani-based National Research and Development Institute for Mining Security and Anti-Explosives Protection (INSEMEX) will carry out an examination at the Bamboo nightclub, as part of the investigation into the causes of the fire.
“We will be called when the fire is put out. I believe this will happen later next week. We will send a team there,” INSEMEX Director General Artur George Gaman told Agerpres on Sunday.
For the time being, he was unable to comment on the cause of the fire, pointing out that the experts will establish it after carrying out their special verifications.
Four patients still at Floreasca Hospital; patient under special supervision in stable condition
Four patients who required medical care following the fire that gutted the Bamboo Club on Saturday morning are still at the Floreasca Emergency Hospital, M.D. Bogdan Oprita, spokesperson of the medical unit, told AGERPRES on Sunday.
According to him, the patient that required special medical care is in stable condition.
“She is stable, still in the Intensive Care Unit,” the physician mentioned.
The patient who required medical care and who was admitted to St. Pantelimon hospital could be discharged on Sunday, Fiorella Nitoiu, the spokesperson of that medical unit, told Agerpres.
Five persons were still in hospital on Saturday following the Bamboo Club fire, four of them at Floreasca Hospital and one at St. Pantelimon Hospital, according to data provided by Internal Affairs Ministry (MAI) spokesperson Monica Dajbog.
IGSU: Controls in 162 clubs in the country; 118 fines worth over 200,000 lei issued
More than 160 nightclubs were checked throughout the country over the weekend by joint teams consisting of firemen and representatives of structures of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MAI), 118 fines worth over 200,000 lei being issued, a release of the Civil Contingencies General Inspectorate (IGSU) remitted on Sunday to AGERPRES informs.
“To ensure the continuity of preventive actions, following the order issued by Interior Minister Carmen Daniela Dan, during this night, firemen, together with representatives of the MAI structures, assembled as joint teams, ran controls and checks at buildings that host activities with numerous people in attendance,” IGSU mentions.
According to the quoted source, between Saturday and Sunday, 162 control actions targeted nightclubs and discos, 118 fines worth a total of 203,000 lei being issued for fire protection irregularities.
The controls discovered one grave fire safety offence at an economic operator in Branesti, Gorj County. The number of people in attendance was exceeding its maximum capacity by more than 10 percent. Firemen shut down its activity, in accordance with provisions.
Simultaneously with the fire protection controls, firemen that were part of the intervention subunits conducted 171 reconnaissance actions around the locations concerned, so that the best ingress routes in case of fire could be established.
The last nationwide large-scale preventive action targeting nightclubs and discos took place on November 11th and November 12th last year. During those two days, 448 economic operators were checked, 405 fines worth over 788,000 lei were issued and two nightclubs in Brasov were closed because the number of people in attendance was exceeding their maximum capacity.
