Fire precations
Establishments such as Gold, Amazonia, Brø and Santa Rita replace them with luminous tools to improve security and gain customers' respect
Several clubs in Malaga have taken the decision to restrict the use of sparklers at their premises, following the incidents in Switzerland and Madrid. The tragedy in Crans Montana in Switzerland led to the death of more than 40 people in a fire caused by such pyrotechnic devices used indoors.
Popular Malaga venues such as Gold, Amazonia, Theatro Club and Gallery Club have taken this decision with the aim of improving safety for both customers and workers. "We have decided to not buy any more sparklers and flares and we will look for other devices," associate Juan Rambla said. He added, however, that for them it is more a question of image than of safety, as they have been using sparklers without any incidents for years.
His club will use the stock they have until it's finished, after which they will replace these devices with LED lights that have the same effect. "We use cold-fire sparklers that don't burn, even if you hold your hand in front of them, but we made this decision for our image and to give our customers greater peace of mind," Rambla said.
There is no clear and referenced regulation on the use of pyrotechnics indoors
Brø initially limited the use of pyrotechnics to only special occasions, when a very exclusive bottle is ordered in a private room. This week, however, they took a step further and made the decision to ban them completely and replace them with lights, "for safety and to avoid bad smells".
Pyrotechnic devices are no longer used in other busy premises such as Santa Rita, near the El Viso industrial estate. Associate Juanjo Vergara told SUR that they have used sparklers in the past, but have since them abandoned them due to questions of bad image, smells and cost. He does acknowledge that an incident like the one in Switzerland "can happen anytime and it's better to avoid it". According to his experience, LED lights are a good alternative.
There doesn't seem to be as much consensus in the province. On the Marbella coast, some venues have decided to remove pyrotechnics from their shows. This is the case for the Mosh group, which recently opted to replace fire with other lighting effects. In other places, such as Mamzel, part of the Casanis group, or Nikki Beach, they were still used during the summer season, always outdoors."The important thing is to ensure everyone's safety," they all say.
State regulation
The use of this type of pyrotechnic elements is not regulated by any state law. It is only reflected in the regulation of pyrotechnic articles and cartridges (RD 989/2015), which doesn't specify what can and cannot be used indoors, creating a legal loophole that then has to be filled with municipal bylaws or regional regulations. In the case of Andalucía and Malaga, there are no clear regulations. At regional level, only Catalonia bans their use.
The use of sparklers and other pyrotechnics is also an issue of concern for the Spain Nightlife organisation, which believes that fire prevention should be a strategic priority for the sector at an international level. It states that "every tragedy of this kind should serve to consolidate the sector's commitment to safety".
President of the association of hoteliers in Malaga Javier Frutos takes a similar stance, acknowledging that there is currently no clear regulation and that the most important thing is to be cautious and ensure the safety of customers and workers. "It is an issue of national concern. There are more and more premises with more decorations and their [pyrotechnics'] use has increased a lot. We are studying measures to establish jointly", he said.
Nightlife federation calls for more clarity on the use of pyrotechnics
Despite the measures taken by some venues, España de Noche (to which many venues in the province belong) assures the population that safety in the leisure and entertainment sector in Spain is well above the average for Europe.
Not only that, but at regional and local level there is a system of inspections and audits that guarantees the proper operation and maintenance of all these facilities. In the case of Malaga, these inspections are carried out by the fire brigade and they considerably increased during the last Christmas holidays.
Nevertheless, España de Noche believes that state regulations should be improved, with greater specification on the use of pyrotechnics. In addition, the organisation calls for clarifying "basic concepts of safety" in clubs, including capacity levels and evacuation paths.
