The Weakest Link
January 31, 2013
The horrific nightclub fire that killed an estimated 230 people in Santa Maria, Brazil last Saturday is a national tragedy for the country.
Accidents happen all the time, they are part of life. However we often see, in retrospect, that many, if not most, could have been avoided. That seems to be the case with this one.
- According to reliable news reports, the fire permit of the night club had expired in August last year.
- Furthermore it has also been reported that the night club was over-crowded. There were more than 2,000 people on the premises while the maximum authorized by the authorities was 1,000.
- The commander of the city’s Fire Department said in an interview that security guards at the club blocked some exit doors, which prevented people from fleeing the blaze. Patrons pay on their way out and this was probably done to prevent anyone from leaving without paying.
- The fire extinguishers were not working.
We can assume that the investigation will reveal exactly what happened and most probably will determine that there was multiple negligence and irresponsible behavior from a number of people that led to this tragedy.
A business that can accommodate 1000 people is not a small enterprise and we can assume that the nightclub employed a large number of people such as administrators, managers, barmen, barmaids, bouncers, chefs etc. Any one of them, as well as patrons might have been able to prevent the catastrophe, by their action.
The popular saying: “a chain is only as strong as its weakest link” could be a warning that we, in certain circumstances, by our inaction (or action) may precisely BE that weak link in a chain of events that may lead to a disaster such as the fire in Brazil.
As Patrick Henry, the 18th century American orator and patriot once wrote:
Comments (1)
February 6th, 2013 at 10:13 pm Posted by Beatrice Jimenez
“A chain is only as strong as its weakest link,” is indeed a good way to describe this situation in its essence.
As you said, it’s definitely evident that this tragic accident could have been avoided. When I read the news, I couldn’t help but think about how irresponsible the management of this nightclub was. The fact that there was not one, but multiple issues that could’ve been quickly addressed makes it that much worse. It’s surprising that a night club of that size didn’t consider the possibility of there being an accident, especially a fire. If they did - which in this case wouldn’t be a surprise - the carelessness and lack of control of the situation is beyond belief. The nightclub blatantly disregarded its patrons’ safety.
It’s also not the first time a nightclub has so unfortunately suffered from a disastrous fire like this one, so one would think that the management team would take the necessary precautions to avoid such fatal occurrence.
The worst part in my opinion, especially from an ethical standpoint, is the bouncers’ initial reaction to block certain exits. Going back to your quote, why didn’t one of the bouncers stop the rest from blocking the entrances? And why wasn’t the nightclub’s management team considering the safety of their customers, especially during a concert– an event so prone to accidents? It was such a tragic event… Even more so because it could’ve been prevented.
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