Swiss bar fire investigation finds no safety inspections for five years

An investigation into the Swiss bar fire has found that no safety inspections were carried out at the venue for five years prior to the deadly incident, which broke out on NewYear’s day and killed more than 40 people.

Nicolas Féraud, the mayor of the Swiss municipality of Crans-Montana, confirmed that Le Constellation bar had not undergone any safety inspections between 2020 and 2025.

Authorities said the blaze may have been caused by sparkler candles attached to champagne bottles coming into contact with the venue’s sound-proof ceiling, raising concerns about fire safety compliance.

Speaking at a press conference, Féraud said the last full inspection of the bar took place in 2019, following an earlier review in 2018 after the merger of neighbouring municipalities Chermignon, Montana, Randogne and Mollens into the newly formed Crans-Montana authority.

The 2018 inspection resulted in the installation of a panic handle on the main entrance door, while inspectors reported no issues with the acoustic lining.

A follow-up inspection on May 13, 2019, confirmed the correction of the door handle and again raised no concerns regarding sound-proofing materials.

Both inspection reports set the venue’s maximum capacity at 100 people in the basement and 100 on the ground floor.

Courts to determine responsibility for Swiss bar fire

The inspection carried out in mid-2019 was the last before the fatal incident last week. Féraud said the failure to carry out inspections in the following years was unexplainable.

Speaking during a press conference, he said the Municipal Council had only become aware of the gap between inspections when “consulting the documents submitted to the Public Prosecutor this weekend.”

“We bitterly regret this,” Féraud said, adding that “the courts will determine the influence such a failure had in the chain of causality that led to the tragedy.”