Brazilian concert fire

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323375204578267570104041576.html?mod=WSJWorld__RIGHTTopStories

A fire that seems to have been accidentally ignited by performers swept through a crowded nightclub in the small town of Santa Maria in southern Brazil early Sunday, killing mainly college students. The students came to a club called Kiss to hear a popular group called Gurizada Fandangueira play Brazilian country music. Around 2 a.m. at least one performer lit what was described as an emergency traffic flare and waved it around to the beat.
The disaster ranks among Brazil's deadliest fires in decades and many images of the aftermath are unprintably gruesome. Often a macabre scene of intertwined bodies piled together so thickly that the nightclub floor is all but covered. A rescue worker told reporters there were so many bodies it was hard to reach the back of the club. Brazilian officials are expected to investigate whether the exits were clearly marked and whether the nightclub had exceeded capacity. At least 232 people were killed in the fire at the club and at least 116 were injured, many from inhaling smoke. The Brazilian military used helicopters to transport grave cases to hospitals in the state capital Pôrto Alegre.

This is an unbearably tragic thing to hear about happening in the world. I can not imagine what it would be like to be the people in the fire who could not get out of the club and were stuck in the smoke and flames. Or to be the family members who lost ones precious to them because they chose to go have fun at a club. It is both hard and incredibly easy to believe that this fire was caused by a flare lit by one of the band members. I can't imagine what would have possessed them to do this though in such a venue. It was a horribly dumb thing to do. I can not think of a worse death than to be burned alive. The amount of those killed in this accident and not necessarily even able to be easily identified as their flesh would have burned away. It is terrible to have to wonder wether the exits were working or if there were too many people in the building just because the owner wanted to make more money. I hope that both Brazil and the families and friends effected by this disaster are able to reach peace and that nothing like this happens in the future.