Swiss ski bar not inspected for five years before deadly fire, mayor says

Authorities said the Swiss bar, which was the scene of a fire that killed 40 people and injured 116 people, had not undergone security checks for five years.

Crans-Montana mayor Nicolas Feraud told a news conference on Tuesday that he could not explain why the Le Constellation bar had not been checked for so long, but that the council was “very sorry”. The premises should have been inspected every year.

“We are sorry about this, we owe it to the families and we will accept responsibility,” he said.

He added that sparklers, which are thought to cause fires when held too close to the ceiling, will be banned in local venues.

Local authorities will now bring in an outside contractor to inspect and monitor all 128 venues in the area.

Feraud acknowledged that there is a five-person team inspecting more than 10,000 premises in Crans-Montana and could not explain why the bar had not been inspected since 2019.

Asked repeatedly why the bar was not checked for so long, Feraud said: “I don’t have an answer for you today.”

“We are very sorry about this and I know how difficult this will be for the families.”

He later added, “No, I’m not resigning and I don’t want to.”

Feraud said it would be “up to the judges” to decide whether local government members should be included in a criminal investigation opened by Swiss prosecutors.

When the fire occurred on New Year’s Day, there appeared to be many more people in the bar than legally allowed, and Feraud said it was the responsibility of Le Constellation managers to regulate this.

Feraud said the maximum capacity is 200 people and emergency exits are designed to serve 100 people on each side of two floors. But he didn’t know if the basement exit was working.

Swiss prosecutors dismissed two bar association directors under criminal investigationIn local media, the French couple is referred to as Jacques and Jessica Moretti.

The prosecutor’s office in Valais said they were both suspected of negligent homicide, negligent bodily harm and negligent arson.

Prosecutors said they believe the fire was started when people celebrating New Year’s Eve lifted champagne bottles with sparklers attached to them from the ceiling of the basement bar and illuminated the soundproofing foam.

Feraud said that using soundproofing material on the ceiling of the bar and allowing sparklers to be thrown into the venue was extremely negligent.

Swiss national broadcaster RTS published footage of partygoers holding bottles with sparklers in 2019. An employee warns them to be wary of “mousse,” the French word for acoustic foam panels.

When asked in the video, Feraud said that probably no one on the council had seen the footage and that he wished it had been brought to his attention when he investigated.

Feraud said that inspections at the facility were carried out in 2016, 2018 and 2019, but there were no inspections between 2020-2025.

At a press conference in 2015, he said that the owners of the bar renovated the bar and that no permit was required for this, and that soundproofing foam was glued to the ceiling.

“There was never any check on this soundproof foam. Our security guards did not find it necessary,” Feraud said.

Inspectors will evaluate many elements, including the nature of the foam, compliance with access standards and emergency exits in the basement.

Information from reported scenes includes people pushing and shoving, especially on the stairs leading to the basement. According to Swiss regulations, doors must open in the direction of exit and must be clearly marked.

In Switzerland’s political system, power is distributed among the three levels of the confederation, namely the 26 cantons and approximately 2,131 municipalities.

Although security regulations are determined by the cantons, they must be implemented by local authorities.

Crans-Montana’s failure to inspect Le Constellation from 2020 to 2025 to comply with fire safety regulations may indicate a possible failure in the system.