Investigation on the causes and consequences of Kiss nightclub fire in Brazil

Nightclub fires are often catastrophic because it usually outbreak during events that have many people together in a confined place. This is what happened in the Kiss nightclub, in 2013, in Brazil. This paper presents the results of a research in the causes and consequences of this fire. Numerical simulations carried out with the Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) software allowed to determine the fire spread and the temperature evolution and smoke movement inside the nightclub. They have been also carried out numerical simulations with the Pathfinder software for studying the evacuation event of the nightclub in function of the fire development. These simulations have been carried out for two scenarios: (a) considering what existed in the building in the day of the fire and (b) what should exist in the building according to the current Brazilian standards. The numerical models were calibrated with data taken from reports, news and videos of the fire and results from laboratory tests especially carried out in this research. It was concluded that if proper finishing and coating materials had been used, the fire could not have broken out and spread so fast. On the other hand, if adequate emergency exits exist probably the number of victims would not have been so high. Some advices for fire safe construction of these buildings and to the fire safety regulations are given in the paper.