Almost 5 years have passed since the fire in the Perm club "Lame Horse" led to the death of more than one and a half hundred people and serious injuries of several hundred more people. What are the reasons for this terrible tragedy and whose criminal negligence was the fault of this?
A lot of time has passed since that terrible December evening, when a terrible tragedy occurred in Perm that struck the whole country, and no one forgot the fire in the Lame Horse. The fire claimed the lives of more than 150 people, and the number of those whose health suffered enormous damage is many times greater. Why did this tragedy happen, and what caused it?
Lame Horse: Why Did People Die?
There was a party in the club that winter evening, the hall was full of guests. One of the brightest episodes of the performance on the stage was supposed to be a pyrotechnic show; it caused the headliner, made of flammable synthetic materials, to catch fire. This was not noticed right away, and when the presenter publicly announced from the stage: “We seem to be on fire,” a real panic began in the hall. Acrid smoke quickly filled the room, the fire instantly spread to the barred walls, and people groped to get to the exit.
Almost none of the guests knew about the existence of the service entrance and its location, and some of the staff of the institution escaped precisely through it, without properly organizing the evacuation. Visitors ran towards the main entrance, two leaves of a pair of double doors which were tightly closed. Only one of them was broken, which led to a crush, as a result of which many people were injured. Many visitors did not manage to leave the club on time, and as a result, they died due to carbon monoxide poisoning and burns incompatible with life.
Who is to blame for the Lame Horse tragedy?
As a result of the investigation, the owner of the establishment, its art director and the unofficial executive director of the nightclub were in the dock. All of them received sentences for the provision of services that did not meet safety requirements, which entailed the infliction of serious harm to health and the death of people. Decorating the premises with flammable materials, no emergency exit, closed doors at the main entrance - all these are serious violations.
In addition to them, the punishment was incurred by the head of the Perm State Fire Inspection, who provided the administration of the club with documents that all fire safety requirements were met in it. The direct executors of checking the club for compliance with fire safety requirements were also accused of criminal negligence - they were sentenced to serve a sentence in a penal colony for more than 4 years.
Members of the pyrotechnic group, which organized a fire show on the territory of the club, were also prosecuted and sentenced to 5 years each.
