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Title – Scores die in Argentine club fire
Source – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 31st December 2004
Basic mistakes and greed account for many of the reasons behind disasters round the world. This is not the first time that a fire has resulted in more deaths then would have occurred if basic safety procedures had been met.
If a list of the worlds public venue fires, where many deaths occurred, were drawn up, many would show similarities. Overcrowding and locked or blocked fire exits turn emergencies into disasters. Anyone who has worked in a venue with a strict capacity will know that if you go over the fire limits the venue quickly turns from comfortable and friendly to fraught and very tense. Fire limits are based on the number of fire exits, size of the venue and distance from inside to the external exit doors, if these limits are ignored and fire escapes are blocked or locked, anyone can see that it is a recipe for disaster.
As it was claimed with this fire, a venue supposedly fit to hold 1500 people was packed with 4000 revellers celebrating New Year, the greed to get as many paying customers in as possible is exasperated by the locking of fire exits, to prevent people getting in without paying. Arguably with 4000 inside this venue, even if the exits had been left open no one else would have been able to gain access anyway, due to the sheer numbers inside.
With a death toll of 175 and the number of injuries a staggering 700+ there can be no doubt that the capacity was ignored on this occasion and they are not alone. It is sometimes staggering the number of venues that ignore their official capacities, the pressure on managers and staff to cram a few extra bodies in when the opportunity arises can sometimes seem impossible to ignore. The targets set for managers by senior management and shareholders can simply be overwhelming.
To counter these pressures, more companies are starting to realise the benefits of good staff training. Conflict Management and Resolution Training (CMR) is now being directed at staff beyond the door supervisor team. The realisation that responsibility for your customers goes beyond this team and that all staff are involved, means that bars and venues can boast staff that can cross over from one job to another and where they truly work as a team, in making environment safer. Well trained staff will realise the dangers of ignoring the rules and the more members of your team that know and understand these rules, will put the peer pressure on maintaining them, rather then thinking if it all goes wrong they will be able to claim ignorance.
We run Fire Safety Courses (FS) and In-House Security Induction Training (IHSI) as well as providing Consultancy Services to help you set up the systems that allow your operation to run confidently so that when an emergency arises your whole team is able to react in a positive manner and respond to ensure the safety of, their colleagues, your customers and your property.
Please visit Our website at www.btbl.co.uk
