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Last Safety Inspection at Ill-Fated Swiss Bar Was 2019

'Periodic checks were not carried out between 2020 and 2025,' says municipal chief

(Newser) - Fire safety inspections hadn't been carried out since 2019 at the Swiss bar where a fire that broke out at a New Year's party left 40 people dead and over 100 injured, local authorities said Tuesday. Investigators have said they believe festive sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles ignited...

Managers of Swiss Bar Now Subjects of Criminal Probe

Investigation launched after fire kills 40, injures 119

(Newser) - Swiss authorities have opened a criminal investigation into the managers of the bar where a fire at a New Year's party left 40 people dead, authorities said Saturday. The two are suspected of involuntary homicide, involuntary bodily harm, and involuntarily causing a fire, the Valais region's chief prosecutor,...

After His Daughter Called, Man Rushed Into Burning Bar

Paolo Campolo says he pulled about 10 young people from Le Constellation

(Newser) - After receiving a call from his daughter, a man who lives a few steps from a Swiss ski resort bar said he pulled 10 young people to safety as a New Year's fire turned the basement venue into what he called "a trap." From his hospital bed,...

'Flashover' Phenomenon Made Bar Fire Especially Deadly

Even firefighters in full gear are unlikely to survive when an entire room ignites

(Newser) - Authorities probing a fire that killed dozens at a Swiss ski-resort bar say it appears to be a textbook case of what fire experts call a flashover. Investigators in Crans-Montana believe flames at Le Constellation, where about 40 people were killed early Thursday, likely began when sparklers on champagne bottles...

Sparklers on Champagne Bottles Blamed in Deadly Fire

Swiss investigators suspect they set fire to the ceiling, starting blaze that killed dozens

(Newser) - Authorities say it appears that festive sparklers attached to champagne bottles started the fire in a Switzerland bar that killed dozens of young New Year's revelers . The sparklers were likely held too close to the ceiling of the bar, called Le Constellation, said Beatrice Pilloud, attorney general of the...

Witnesses Describe Horrific Fire at Swiss Ski Resort

'I found people burning from head to foot, no clothes anymore'

(Newser) - Witnesses are coming forward to describe the deadly blaze at a Swiss ski resort bar, one of the country's worst tragedies with an estimated 40 dead and 115 injured in the wee hours of New Year's Day. Le Constellation in the Swiss Alps resort of Crans-Montana offered a...

Police: Around 40 Dead, 115 Injured in Swiss Bar Fire

New president says it's one of the country's 'worst tragedies'

(Newser) - About 40 people were killed and another 115 injured, most of them seriously, after a fire ripped through a bar's New Year celebration in a Swiss Alpine resort less than two hours after midnight Thursday, police said. Authorities did not immediately have an exact count of the deceased. The...

'Several Dozen' Dead in Fire at Swiss Ski Bar

Blaze erupted around 1:30am in Le Constellation in the high-end resort of Crans-Montana

(Newser) - A packed New Year's Eve party at a Swiss ski resort turned into a mass-casualty disaster, with "several dozen" dead and about 100 injured, reports the Guardian . A blaze erupted around 1:30am local time Thursday in Le Constellation, a popular bar in the high-end resort of Crans-Montana in...

Fire Rips Through Historic Maine Waterfront
Fire Rips Through
Historic Waterfront
Dec 27, 2025 12:30 PM CST

Fire Rips Through Historic Waterfront

With fire hydrants in Maine frozen, boat sprayed water from harbor onto flames

(Newser) - A fire tore through the historic Old Port waterfront in Portland, Maine, authorities said, damaging aging buildings and several boats. Flames and smoke spread Friday through structures along the Custom House Wharf, a 19th- and 20th-century hub for Portland's fishing industry that now includes seafood restaurants, the AP reports....

Neanderthals Mastered Fire Far Earlier Than We Thought
This Is the Oldest Evidence
of Humans Making Fire
NEW STUDY
Dec 11, 2025 9:48 AM CST

This Is the Oldest Evidence of Humans Making Fire

And it comes from Neanderthals in England, 400K years ago

(Newser) - Archaeologists in England say a few tiny mineral flecks may rewrite a big chapter in human prehistory. At a site called Barnham in Suffolk, researchers uncovered what they describe as the oldest direct evidence of fire-making: traces of iron pyrite, or fool's gold, which sparks when struck against flint,...

Pregnant Woman Among Dead in Horrific Office Fire

Death toll currently at 22 after building blaze in Indonesian capital of Jakarta

(Newser) - A fire ripped through an office building in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta on Tuesday, killing at least 22, including a pregnant woman, police said. Flames engulfed the seven-story building, sending thick black smoke billowing and causing panic among nearby residents and workers, per the AP . The fire, which broke...

Man's Criticism of Hong Kong Fire Response Called 'Seditious'

71-year-old accused of inciting hatred against the government

(Newser) - Hong Kong's national security police have acknowledged the first arrest related to criticism of the Nov. 26 apartment fire that killed more than 150 people. A 71-year-old man is accused of stirring public resentment online following the Wang Fuk Court complex blaze —the city's deadliest fire in...

After Deadly Fire, Hong Kong Stifles Dissent

City is following Beijing's playbook

(Newser) - After a deadly fire in Hong Kong's Wang Fuk Court apartment complex claimed at least 159 lives and left thousands homeless, residents called for answers and accountability—only to be met with a government crackdown. Authorities detained a university student for distributing fliers demanding an independent investigation, and a...

Grim Toll in Hong Kong Fire Keeps Going Up

146 now confirmed dead with more than 100 still missing as city mourns

(Newser) - The death toll in Hong Kong's apartment complex blaze rose to 146 on Sunday as investigators discovered more bodies in the burned-out buildings. A steady stream of people placed bouquets of flowers at an ever-growing makeshift memorial at the scene of the disaster, reports the AP , among the worst...

More Arrests Made as Hong Kong Death Toll Hits 128

Search for victims of city's deadliest fire in decades is ongoing

(Newser) - Hong Kong firefighters found dozens more bodies Friday during an intensive apartment-by-apartment search of a high-rise tower complex, after a massive fire engulfed seven of its eight buildings. The death toll in one of the city's deadliest blazes is now at least 128.
  • Crews prioritized apartments from which they
...

Hong Kong Fire Survivor: Our Windows Were Covered

And he says no alarm sounded

(Newser) - As the death toll continues to mount in Hong Kong's deadliest fire in decades, the New York Times describes one survivor's chance escape. The Wang Fuk Court high-rise complex had been under renovation for more than a year, and Lau Yu Hung, 78, says most of his 19th-floor...

3 Arrested in Connection With Hong Kong Fire
3 Arrested in Connection
With Hong Kong Fire
UPDATED
Nov 27, 2025 6:41 AM CST

3 Arrested in Connection With Hong Kong Fire

Construction company execs accused of gross negligence in high-rise fire that killed at least 55

(Newser) - Hong Kong's deadliest fire in decades burned through the night, leaving at least 55 people dead and 290 missing as of 6pm local time Thursday, reports the Guardian . Police arrested three men on suspicion of manslaughter in connection with the fire which began Wednesday afternoon in a housing complex...

Almost 300 Missing in Hong Kong High-Rise Fire

Death toll hits 36 in city's deadliest fire in decades

(Newser) - Hong Kong's deadliest fire in decades blazed late into the night on Wednesday as the city's leader confirmed at least 36 people, including a firefighter, had died and another 279 people were reported missing. Hundreds of residents were evacuated as the blaze spread across seven high-rise apartment buildings...

Deadly Inferno Engulfs 7 Hong Kong High-Rises

At least 13 people have been killed and others are trapped

(Newser) - A fire spread across seven high-rise apartment buildings in a Hong Kong housing complex Wednesday, killing at least 13 people, including a firefighter, and leaving others still trapped. Authorities said nine people were declared dead at the scene and four others who were sent to the hospital were later confirmed...

LA Issues Shelter-in-Place Order as Cargo Ship Burns

Officials are concerned over the hazardous materials on board

(Newser) - A fire that broke out aboard a Los Angeles container ship on Friday continued to burn overnight, prompting a shelter-in-place order for surrounding communities over concerns about hazardous materials within the ship's cargo. All 23 crew members of the One Henry Hudson were accounted for and there were no...

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