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I have always wondered about the fire safety of these events, gathering large numbers of people in spaces not originally intended for that and with (I imagine)

by pryce 8y ago

I have always wondered about the fire safety of these events, gathering large numbers of people in spaces not originally intended for that and with (I imagine) unusual constraints on planning mass exits. Do you happen to know whether the fire safety aspect gets scrutinized?

titanix2 8y ago
We weren’t that many, maybe 8 people, ten at most. As for fire safety of course there is no inspection, it’s illegal to go there, but there isn’t anything that can burn either. Everything is made of stone and there is also a lot of humidity everywhere.
kehrlann 8y ago
Nothing gets scrutinized - it's illegal to go down there anyway. Folks down there are not always safety conscious or very responsible :o) Sometimes there are parties with tens or over a hundred people in a big room that only has two crawl holes to exit it. About fire safety, well it's pretty damp down there, mostly with rocks and dirt. Can't picture a whole room catching fire... But I'm no expert in fire safety.
- jacquesm 8y ago
  Gas leak... depending on how far down you are, old gas lines tend to leak little bits of gas because they get porous that can pool.
  - kehrlann 8y ago
    Never heard of such an incident in the catacombs before. In my uninformed opinion, this seems unlikely: gas pipes in Paris are buried less than 1m deep, whereas the catacombs are 10 to 30m underground, below service galleries for utilities, sewers, and even the subway.
- adrianN 8y ago
  In a place with sufficiently tight exits like the crawl holes you mentioned, it is enough if there is a little smoke to cause a panic. People will die from being trampled even if there is no actual danger from the fire.
  - kehrlann 8y ago
    Home-made smoke bombs are a classic (and annoying) prank in the underground. Fills an entire gallery in less than a minute: https://www.loupiote.com/photos_l/catacombes-de-paris-catacombs-off-limit-area-508705416.jpg https://www.loupiote.com/photos_l/catacombes-de-paris-cataco... Parties I was talking about look like this: https://youtu.be/6E-F-cVqubU https://youtu.be/6E-F-cVqubU
IfOnlyYouKnew 8y ago
I remember the first time I took MDMA, about three years ago in the underground remnants of a Berlin public pool (“Stattbad” or “Stadtbad” if you want to google images). The surroundings were almost steampunk, with old pipes and boilers going each very way. Or maybe a WW2 submarine, but larger. Anyway, I remember an /extremely/ /interesting/ chat (as one is want to have under the influence) with someone working there, in which he assured me they had passed all fire inspections. I had inquired because the only ways out were two extremely steep staircases, barely fitting two people side-by-side each. Came back a week later only to find it closed. Turns out they never had any permits for the club, only for art exhibits on the ground level. It became a minor political scandal. IIRC there were two authorities who each assumed the other had jurisdiction. This was underground by location only. It was among the top ten on residentadvisor, in travel guides, etc. Maybe a few hundred people on a Saturday night. I was there with a friend who did press for the mayor. Sort of hiding in plain sight. FWIW, this was sort of a singular incident as far as I can tell. All the clubs in this town are repurposed, but I haven’t seen any other death traps, and I do tend to try the exits. It also helps that pyrotechnics aren’t big in the scene here, and that LED lighting has taken over.
- dnate 8y ago
  IMO it is not a good thing that that venue had to close. But I guess that is the time we live in now. Much safer = Much better
  - lostlogin 8y ago
    With the history of fires in clubs and at events, I’m comfortable with closures until things are rectified. They might be rare but they are devastating.
GorgeRonde 8y ago
can't believe this gets downvoted

by pryce 8y ago

titanix2 8y ago

We weren’t that many, maybe 8 people, ten at most. As for fire safety of course there is no inspection, it’s illegal to go there, but there isn’t anything that can burn either. Everything is made of stone and there is also a lot of humidity everywhere.

kehrlann 8y ago

Nothing gets scrutinized - it's illegal to go down there anyway. Folks down there are not always safety conscious or very responsible :o) Sometimes there are parties with tens or over a hundred people in a big room that only has two crawl holes to exit it. About fire safety, well it's pretty damp down there, mostly with rocks and dirt. Can't picture a whole room catching fire... But I'm no expert in fire safety.

jacquesm 8y ago
Gas leak... depending on how far down you are, old gas lines tend to leak little bits of gas because they get porous that can pool.
- kehrlann 8y ago
  Never heard of such an incident in the catacombs before. In my uninformed opinion, this seems unlikely: gas pipes in Paris are buried less than 1m deep, whereas the catacombs are 10 to 30m underground, below service galleries for utilities, sewers, and even the subway.
adrianN 8y ago
In a place with sufficiently tight exits like the crawl holes you mentioned, it is enough if there is a little smoke to cause a panic. People will die from being trampled even if there is no actual danger from the fire.
- kehrlann 8y ago
  Home-made smoke bombs are a classic (and annoying) prank in the underground. Fills an entire gallery in less than a minute: https://www.loupiote.com/photos_l/catacombes-de-paris-catacombs-off-limit-area-508705416.jpg https://www.loupiote.com/photos_l/catacombes-de-paris-cataco... Parties I was talking about look like this: https://youtu.be/6E-F-cVqubU https://youtu.be/6E-F-cVqubU

IfOnlyYouKnew 8y ago

I remember the first time I took MDMA, about three years ago in the underground remnants of a Berlin public pool (“Stattbad” or “Stadtbad” if you want to google images). The surroundings were almost steampunk, with old pipes and boilers going each very way. Or maybe a WW2 submarine, but larger. Anyway, I remember an /extremely/ /interesting/ chat (as one is want to have under the influence) with someone working there, in which he assured me they had passed all fire inspections. I had inquired because the only ways out were two extremely steep staircases, barely fitting two people side-by-side each. Came back a week later only to find it closed. Turns out they never had any permits for the club, only for art exhibits on the ground level. It became a minor political scandal. IIRC there were two authorities who each assumed the other had jurisdiction. This was underground by location only. It was among the top ten on residentadvisor, in travel guides, etc. Maybe a few hundred people on a Saturday night. I was there with a friend who did press for the mayor. Sort of hiding in plain sight. FWIW, this was sort of a singular incident as far as I can tell. All the clubs in this town are repurposed, but I haven’t seen any other death traps, and I do tend to try the exits. It also helps that pyrotechnics aren’t big in the scene here, and that LED lighting has taken over.

dnate 8y ago
IMO it is not a good thing that that venue had to close. But I guess that is the time we live in now. Much safer = Much better
- lostlogin 8y ago
  With the history of fires in clubs and at events, I’m comfortable with closures until things are rectified. They might be rare but they are devastating.

GorgeRonde 8y ago

can't believe this gets downvoted