Gina Russo survived a fire at The Station nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island, in 2003, but lost her fiancé Fred Crisostomi. The fire, caused by stage pyrotechnics igniting acoustic foam, engulfed the club in just 90 seconds, leaving 100 dead and many injured.
Twenty-two years later, a near-identical tragedy struck Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. Early on New Year’s Day 2026, a fire sparked by sparklers attached to champagne bottles spread across foam-lined ceilings, killing 40 people, mostly young adults. Survivors suffered severe burns.
Experts note the similarity: both incidents were “flashover fires,” where heat and smoke rise rapidly, igniting the ceiling and spreading lethal flames within seconds. Prof Ed Galea, a fire safety expert, explains that such fires give occupants only a tiny window to escape, often underestimating the speed of the blaze.
Psychologists have observed that in emergencies, people may freeze or mimic others’ inaction. In both tragedies, footage shows some attendees filming or trying to extinguish flames rather than evacuating immediately.
Fire consultant Richard Hagger says the Swiss fire was almost certainly triggered by pyrotechnics, and the foam ceiling accelerated the disaster. Both cases highlight the deadly combination of heat, fuel, and oxygen, and the importance of immediate evacuation.
Despite decades of research and hundreds of similar fires worldwide, international safety regulations remain inconsistent. Galea stresses a simple rule: “Chance favours the prepared mind. Always know your exits.”
Survivors continue to live with physical and emotional scars. For Gina and Phil Barr, another Rhode Island survivor, the events were life-changing: “I realised I need to go out and put effort into the things which really matter,” Phil reflects.
