State Secretary with the Interior Ministry (MAI) Raed Arafat on Tuesday said that Colectiv club, the scene of a terrible fire on Friday evening, had been officially declared as a bar and restaurant with a seating capacity of 80, a reason why no additional documents were requested by the Fire Brigade.
“When the registration of this venue was made with the local administration, no mention was made of it becoming a club. It was declared a bar and restaurant with a seating capacity of 80, and that was a problem, because it fell under a different jurisdiction. That jurisdiction did not make an authorisation and firefighting compliance from the Fire Brigade mandatory. (…) They stated something that was not in keeping with reality. It was authorised to operate as requested, as far as I understand as a bar and restaurant with a seating capacity of 80. That is why no additional requests from the Fire Brigade were necessary that are usually mandatory for venues with an activity entailing more people in the same space,” Arafat told journalists at the Government House.
He added that a bona-fide declaration that firefighting rules are adhered to was cancelled as far back as 2007, at the requests of the Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (ISU).
“The bona fide declaration regarding firefighting compliance was cancelled. It had been valid for two years, after which, in 2007, upon a request from ISU after detecting abuse of the declaration, the possibility of a bona fide declaration was rescinded,” Arafat explained. More…