This is the dramatic moment a fashionable Madrid restaurant was engulfed in flames over the weekend after sparklers set fire to a curtain, an incident that comes less than two weeks after a deadly blaze at a Swiss bar also linked to pyrotechnics.
The Madrid Restaurant Incident
The inferno broke out on Saturday night at Fanatico, a trendy restaurant in the centre of the Spanish capital. Footage from the scene shows diners waving lit sparklers as part of a circus-themed show, with the pyrotechnics accidentally igniting a nearby curtain. A waiter is seen quickly intervening with a fire extinguisher, and the flames were reportedly put out in about eight seconds.
The restaurant operator, GLH Singular Restaurants, confirmed in a statement that there were no injuries and no structural damage to the establishment. In a decisive response, the company announced it had decided to permanently ban the use of any pyrotechnic elements at all its venues.
A Chilling Echo of Swiss Tragedy
This alarming event follows the catastrophic fire at Le Constellation bar in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana during New Year celebrations. That blaze killed 40 people and injured 116 others. Initial investigations suggest it was caused by sparklers on champagne bottles igniting soundproofing foam on the ceiling of the bar's basement.
Horrific new details reveal that 34 of the victims died on a cramped stairwell leading from the basement, which had been narrowed by two-thirds by the owners. Swiss law enforcement found numerous bodies at the bottom after the wooden steps collapsed.
The bar's owners, 49-year-old Jacques Moretti and his 40-year-old wife Jessica, are in custody facing charges including manslaughter by negligence. The mayor of Crans-Montana, Nicolas Feraud, admitted that no periodic safety inspections had been carried out since 2019 at the venue.
A Pattern of Pyrotechnic Danger
This is not an isolated pattern. Just days before the Swiss tragedy, on December 27, a wedding at the Kristal Palace Hotel in Avellino, Italy, descended into chaos. Sparklers from a wedding cake set ceiling decorations and curtains alight, causing a significant fire that spread to the lobby. The groom suffered second-degree burns, though there were no fatalities.
These consecutive incidents across Europe have thrown a harsh spotlight on the use of pyrotechnics in hospitality venues and the critical importance of rigorous safety checks. The rapid response in Madrid prevented a tragedy, but the Swiss disaster underscores the devastating potential when safety is compromised.
