Linthicum Heights, MD, Jan. 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Last March, the world watched as news came in from North Macedonia, where a massive fire killed 59 people and injured 155 in a nightclub. Pyrotechnics were cited as the cause of the fire, which reminds Americans of the Station Nightclub fire that occurred in Rhode Island in February of 2003. This past week, on New Years Eve, we learned of another tragic nightclub fire in Crans-Montana, Switzerland that to date has left at least 40 people dead and over 100 injured.
While all the details of the most recent fire tragedy are not yet known, the National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA) points out that automatic fire sprinkler systems are the only active part of fire protection measures installed in a building that have the ability to control and contain a fire before the arrival of the fire department. When all other fire prevention and fire protection deficiencies are overcome by fire, partners in protection areall that is left. Fire sprinklers and firefighters are partners in protection; mitigating the impact of fire on occupants, building owners, communities, and firefighters. Containing the fire to the object or area where it starts is the best way to save lives and protect property. This preserves business continuity, maintains economic viability, reduces the risk to firefighters, and reduces the impact on the environment for all communities.
Common Voices advocate, Rob Feeney, a survivor of the Station Nightclub Fire, penned a beautifully crafted Op-Ed that we feel is worth noting:
"Upon the news breaking of the Crans-Montana, Switzerland fire on New Years Eve, anger is the first thing I felt as a burn survivor from the Station Nightclub and as a fire professional trying to educate the public and business owners on simple fire prevention efforts. Anger because since the Station Nightclub fire in 2003, there have been over a dozen bar/nightclub fires worldwide that are all similar in some fashion. Whether overcrowding, lack of or blocked exits, flammable building materials such as soundproofing foam, no trained crowd management and the use of indoor pyrotechnics or open flames, each fire was a lesson that should have prevented the next. Every bar and nightclub that had a tragic fire lacked a fire sprinkler system, which would have prevented every single death, and most likely every injury. This has never been a Rhode Island or a U.S. problem. It’s a worldwide problem. No matter the country, fire burns the same, injures the same and kills the same. The solution is also the same…fire prevention through better fire codes and sprinkler systems. My heart goes out to the families who lost loved ones. To the survivors, you’re not alone. We share your pain." - Rob Feeney
The NFSA expresses its sympathy for the victims of the Switzerland fire, applauds Common Voices for stepping up with support, and hopes that this tragedy will serve as a reminder that we must stay vigilant in our efforts to retrofit occupancies like these in the United States. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 provided a tax incentive for building owners to retrofit their buildings with fire sprinklers. For more information on this, please visit. www.nfsa.org/taxreform.
“I was a fire lieutenant in Brentwood, TN when the Station Night Club Fire happened. I remember almost every fire department in America with a nightclub in its community put fire departments on inspection duty to ensure that didn’t happen there. Six months later, very few fire departments did company inspections of those occupancies,” explains NFSA President Shane Ray. “Over 20 years later, the codes and standards are now under attack more than I’ve ever experienced in my career. Political decisions being made on those codes and standards ignore the proven process of code development and fail to listen to input from fire officials that are active in the process. This can happen again in the United States.”
“As a survivor of The Station Nightclub Fire, tragedies like this take us back to that moment that we lost so much,” adds Gina Russo, the newest advocate of Common Voices and like Feeney, a survivor of that fire. “We must continue to fight to raise awareness of the importance of codes, standards, and the installation of fire sprinklers. Lives will be saved because of our work and effort.”
About the National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA): NFSA was founded in 1905 and wants to create a more fire safe world and works to heighten the awareness of the importance of fire sprinkler systems from homes to high-rise and all occupancies in between. The Association is an inclusive organization made up of dedicated and committed members of a progressive life-saving industry. This industry manufactures, designs, supplies, installs, inspects, and services the world’s most effective system in saving lives and property from uncontrolled structural fires.
For more information about fire sprinklers, how they work and access to additional resources and information, visit www.nfsa.org for the latest material, statistics and a dedicated team of fire safety advocates ready to serve all stakeholders to fulfill the vision of a safer world.
To learn more about Common Voices, and the advocates coalition determined to create a Fire Safe America, please visit www.fireadvocates.org for more information on how they are turning tragedy into advocacy.
Vickie Pritchett National Fire Sprinkler Association 615-533-0305 pritchett@nfsa.org
