Radio România Internațional

Tag: safety regulations

  • Safety Procedures and their Effects

    Safety Procedures and their Effects

    Are there any safety procedures applicable to public spaces in Romania? Yes, there are. The problem is that, as it happened in October at the Colectiv club in downtown Bucharest, they are almost never observed. Commentators invited to take part in TV shows have all been very active in passing judgments and putting the blame on one party or another, who, in their opinion, would be responsible for the tragedy at Colectiv, where hundreds of people, actually five times more than the club was allowed to accommodate, were caught by fire and many of them died.



    One of the commentators even pointed the finger at the very people who attended the concert, who, he argues, should have asked if the club had the necessary safety procedures in place, before going there. The three owners of the club are now being held in temporary police custody and prosecuted for manslaughter. Also, the pyro-technician and the managers who allowed the use of fireworks, which originally started, are now facing aggravated charges.



    What about the authorities? An internal investigation has revealed the fact that the Bucharest – Ilfov Inspectorate for Emergency Situations actually knew about the activities carried out at Colectiv, but all they did was to just add another paper to the file, without actually checking the situation on site. Therefore, the heads of the Inspectorate have been suspended and are now being held accountable by the National Anticorruption Directorate. Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos has called for their sacking.



    “Im almost sure this is not a singular case, and valid for Bucharest alone, so I would like State Secretary Arafat to conduct a thorough investigation and to draw up an action plan for the restructuring of the Inspectorate for Emergency Situations.



    The State Secretary with the Interior Ministry, Raed Arafat, one of the most trusted officials in Romania, should also provide explanations regarding some of his statements after the accident, which have proven not so accurate. However, the issue as such is structural in nature, it does not just relate to the Colectiv club alone. Important buildings have been closed all across the country, for failing to observe the necessary safety regulations.



    Also, given that Bucharest is the European capital running the highest risk of being affected by earthquakes, cinema and theatre halls, some of them with a national reputation, as well as restaurants and bars have been forced to suspend their activity, as last week, Romanias president Klaus Iohannis promulgated the law banning any kind of public activity in spaces at risk. The structural frame of hundreds of buildings was affected in particular by the big earthquake of 1977, measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale, which killed some 1,600 people. Only a few of these have been consolidated.



    The situation is high on the agenda of Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos and Culture Minister Vlad Alexandrescu, who will hold a meeting to find solutions, with the participation of the Bucharest municipality.


    (Translation by M. Ignatescu)


  • Fire Prevention, from Theory to Practice

    Fire Prevention, from Theory to Practice

    The horrific incident in the Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest would have never happened if the venue had had fire safety permits granted by the Department for Emergency Situations. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated case. The tragedy brought to light the fact that thousands of venues throughout Romania, which host events attended by hundreds and even thousands of people, do not have fire safety permits. In fact, all of them have been operating for years without such permits.



    It was the interim prime minister himself, Sorin Cimpeanu, who announced on Saturday that only 7% of the 19 thousand schools in Romania have fire safety permits. Cimpeanu has explained that this situation was triggered by the fact that getting a fire safety permit is neither easy, nor cheap.



    Sorin Cimpeanu: “The licensing documentation must be drawn up by certified experts, it costs around 10 to 15 thousand euros and it takes 6 to 12 months to complete, depending on the building.



    A day later, Prime Minister Cimpeanu said that following his announcement, another 4,000 schools “remembered they did have a fire safety permit, after all. Hospitals are no better in this respect either, PM Cimpeanu said.



    State Secretary with the Home Affairs Ministry, Raed Arafat, has confirmed the situation and has pointed out that several hospital managers have been fined this year for this very reason. Arafat has also said that nightclubs and dance clubs are being checked for safety permits and for compliance with maximum capacity regulations.



    Raed Arafat: “There are many nightclubs and dance clubs which have closed down until they receive safety permits. Checks are under way and I assure you we are very strict. We wont hesitate to punish those who do not comply.



    The Department for Emergency Situations has checked cinemas, theatre halls, cultural centres and city halls in Bucharest and outside the capital city and has found that many of them operated without safety permits. The National Arena is the best example in this respect. Romanias biggest stadium, which in the last 4 years venued international football matches attended by thousands of spectators, such as the Europa League final and the match between Romania and Netherlands, has never had the fire departments approval to operate.