Fireworks and nightclub fires

At least 59 people were killed in the North Macedonia nightclub fire which appears to have been set off by fireworks. As I reveal in my recent book A History of Fireworks (Reaktion Books), accidents of this kind have become disturbingly familiar.

The North Macedonia fire happened on 16 March in Kocani, 60 miles from the capital Skopje, where about 500 people were attending a concert by DNK, one of the country's most popular bands. The blaze seems to have been started by sparks from flares hitting the ceiling which was made of inflammable material. 

There were reports that the venue was not licensed, and survivors spoke of there being only one exit, and of those trying to escape being trampled in the crush. Only one member of the band survived, and police detained 15 people.

In 2003, 100 people were killed at a club in West Warwick, Rhode Island, USA as they watched the rock band Great White, who had just incorporated pyrotechnics into their act. Sparks set fire to inflammable foam lining the ceiling, walls and even an exit door. One band member was killed. 

The following year, nearly 200 people died in an eerily similar fire at a nightclub in Buenos Aires. Among those gaoled were members of the rock band who had been performing. Then in 2009, 156 people perished at the Lame Horse club at Perm in Russia. The building had no fire exits.

But the worst disaster came at the Kiss club in Santa Maria, Brazil in 2013 (pictured). Again, the band set off a flare which ignited soundproofing foam on the ceiling, filling the place with toxic fumes. Police said the club had no working fire extinguishers and exits were poorly signposted. The death toll was 242.

 

Prince Philip's rumoured affairs

Just as the Queen and Prince Philip prepare to celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary, rumours about Philip's alleged affairs have resurfaced. 

One concerns British actress Pat Kirkwood, whose legs in her heyday were said to have been 'the eighth wonder of the world'. Kirkwood, who died in 2007, always denied there was an affair.

I interviewed her about the story in 1999 for a programme entitled Prince Philip - one step behind the Queen for the American television series Biography made by A&E Network.

She told me the rumours arose because she danced with Philip in a London night club in the late 1940s. As they were gliding across the floor, some people came in, spotted them, and looked rather cross. She continued:

'I said to Prince Philip: "Who are those people that have come in just now? They seem to be awfully disgusted with something." He said: "Oh them. They're the courtiers." Whereupon he started to imitate them, pulling his face into disgusted positions. It was so funny. So I said: "don't you think we'd better sit down now?" He said: "No. And that's an order."'