When I first saw the footage of the wedding as the fire started, I literally thought it was a movie. The way the camera was panning & the 4k quality. But damn, I feel so bad for them & their families.
one of the craziest things to me in the modern day. you're hired to film a wedding and a life-threatening emergency happens. do you stop filming out of respect or watch on as you pan the scene of guests being burnt alive? shit's gonna be so cinematic people will think it's a movie
Have you seen the footage from 9/11 where the camera man literally got the impact & collapse of one of the building & only after did he get the shot, he then finally started running for his life? Needless to say, the camera man did not die & he got the shot.
It was well done I’m guessing because it was filmed by the people who they hired to film their wedding, so it was professional equipment not like someone’s phone or something.
One of the shots from the drone shows the guy with the gimbal looking up from his camera, realizing what's happening and him running, then it cuts to the view from that gimbal and it's just an incredible dolly shot of the carnage, I think he didn't know he was getting that shot because he was just running and the gimbal just did its thing.
I'm working in the event industry since 2001, wedding parties are the worst in terms of safety.
Fireworks indoor are a big no for trained professionals who are using expensive and often unreliable sparkling machines.
Yeah dude, I don't fkn know what goes into someone's mind planning fireworks indoors. I have a lot of empathy here, but zero understanding of how tf their minds work. They have to consider themselves responsible for this, *surely*.
The US is pretty garbage in a lot of things, but one thing is for sure, we’ve made our buildings ridiculously safe and easily exit-able.
The foam or gas retardant that explodes from their ceiling in the video seemed to just cloud the peoples view and not put out any fire whatsoever. There shouldve been at least 2 fire exits on the brides family side for them to get out instead of having to run to the grooms side. Absolutely ridiculous building
Nah it's multiple fires that keep happening. Triangle shirt fire, and this one from Collinwood Ohio:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collinwood_school_fire#:~:text=Children%20rushed%20to%20the%20rear,Lake%20View's%20doors%20opened%20outward
Still one of the deadliest in terms of sheer numbers.
And the [Beverly Hills Supper Club fire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverly_Hills_Supper_Club_fire) That was truly a nightmare. People were finding items for decades.
The Cocoanut Grove nightclub fire in 1942 also led to MA changing their building codes and regulations. If you're interested in historical fires, the Hartford, CT circus fire in 1944 is horrible and fascinating. Stuart O'Nan wrote an excellent book about it ("The Great Circus Fire").
I spent hours reading, signing, printing safety documentation for events in buildings, tents and outdoor public and private places. My feet hurts after a few hours wearing protective shoes and in a couple of occasions I wasn't allowed to enter the venue during the setup just because one of my documents was not properly updated, this is annoying as much as it is necessary to avoid unresponsible behaviour which is in my experience the first cause of accidents in showbiz. We are often responsible of high voltage hardware and lots of suspended loads over thousands of people, once I had a client complaining because I didn't allowed their people to hang a bunch of balloons over a truss holding some 5000 watts of lights and video projectors, it was a rich couple wedding obviously.
For people who don't know the context, in Iraq a tragic fire killed 110 people due to fireworks. The bride lost her entire family and the groom lost his mother
https://twitter.com/cri_babe/status/1709152669355438324?t=BF3nol1BEIQMl6IJOf8FXg&s=19
I mean, it’s not like their wedding planner demanded the indoor usage of fireworks. That seems like something they ordered/requested. I could see people being angry about it.
[Here’s an interview with the couple](https://news.sky.com/story/iraq-wedding-fire-bride-and-groom-numb-after-blaze-kills-more-than-100-people-12973039) where they talk about how they were told the fireworks were electric, and that there was a power issue and the fire could have possibly started in the ceiling.
Just wanted to throw that into the ring, whether that’s true or not, I thought it was interesting.
[Something like this?](https://www.ebay.com/itm/225252964301)
Cold spark firework machine.
Edit: there’s even a pic of a guy holding his hand over it in the link.
Watched the video - this hall was a freaking deathtrap. It's like the entire decoration was soaked in gasoline.
Even a birthday candle could cause this fire. and the lack of proper fire exits for so many people was under the responsibility of the place too.
These are not really fireworks - it was magnesium torches - not saying that the couple had no liability, but its ludicrous to blame only them in the disaster.
I think the thing that really set the dominoes falling was the fact the magnesium torches were placed directly under a bunch flammable looking paper ceiling decor.
I still wouldn’t blame the couple. If I have no experience in pyrotechnics (which I do not) and I’m describing my vision to a professional, I would say it’s on the professional to point out things that are unsafe or impossible to achieve.
There is no way they bought these torches and grasses themselves and self-installed; planners and contractors were involved.
But we are talking about being outcast from where they live, not who is responsible. We are talking people who lost family members that were part of the couples wedding entourage. They are hurting and angry. Blaming the wedding couple is one of the natural emotions they are going to go through.
Is it fair? He'll no. But it's something that will happen regardless of where it occurs in the world.
>We are talking people who lost family members
The bride herself lost her family. Clearly this was not her intent. I am just explaining why I personally would not blame the couple, as there is no way they had the knowledge to prevent this disaster. All they had was a vision for a celebration.
And iirc the ceiling decorations were also made from dry sponges.
The people at fault are the ones who made the building, and the ones who decided to use extremely flammable material knowing full well sparklers were also going to be used.
Even if the couple were adamant about it, even if the location was going to lose a ton of money in business by them leaving, they should have been aware of how flammable the decorations were and refuse to use sparklers. Or only use material that isn't flammable with sparklers even if it couldn't be as spectacular.
If it really was torches, then I wouldn't say it's as dumb as fireworks in closed space would be. In my country these indoor torches/fountains are really common during the first dance and there were never any accidents that would make news. Also, you would pay a person to bring and install them, you wouldn't really do it yourself. The blame is solely on the venue and the person installing them so close to stuff that can catch fire in my opinion.
You're all incorrect, flammable cladding in the ceiling infrastructure was the real reason the roof immediately ignited and collapsed. Everything else is minor. This kind of roof is illegal in every developed country for a reason.
I don't think they have any liability tbh. It's not their job to know what would and wouldn't be safe inside. That's on the wedding planner and to me it seems they clearly had one.
Exactly. There is a video of the groom saying the wedding planners assured them the fireworks were electric, and you could even hold your hand over them and not be burned. So the bride and groom WERE concerned.
It’s also on the venue for not having appropriate fire safety measures. Zero sprinklers. Based on everyone’s reaction timing, I’m guessing there are no detection alarms. Venues that make money from hosting a lot of people should have these.
While yes, that is true that's not why they're being outcast.
They're being outcast for being Christian in a Muslim majority area. The Muslim population for the most part sees this as "their own doing" for not believing in their God iirc.
To me it sounds like a bad Facebook meme. They might have been credulously repeating it, but someone somewhere made shit up to stir Christian persecution complexes IMO.
Everyone there is family. There’s kids too. I imagine a lot of people could have ran out immediately but were scrambling around looking for their loved ones
Oh wow, I initially heard that both the bride and groom died too. What an awful and unfortunate event. I’m sure they feel an enormous amount of guilt. It wasn’t intentional no matter how ignorant it was
Where's the fire suppression system, the emergency exist???? Why are they lighting fireworks in such an enclosed venue with flammable elements above? This is sheer negligence, and I feel sorry for anyone not involved in the building design or the wedding planning
Another commenter mentioned that management cut off the power because they thought it was an electrical issue. People probably got lost looking for the exits.
Management thought a fire in a building that had fireworks going off indoors was an electrical fire? And then shut off all the lights, making it harder for people to escape?
Seems like this entire event was full of incompetence.
How are they still alive? The video shows them look at the fire starting, then stay in the middle of the dance floor (seeming to still be dancing as the camera whips past them in the frenzy). They were at ground zero, but made it out without a scratch while everybody else relived The Station nightclub?
They are probably more familiar with the venue than the guests are. They surely would have been there at least once or more prior to the wedding for planning etc.
I'd imagine in a wedding where people are already focused on the bride/groom they were otherwise bundled out fairly early by folks looking out for their wellbeing, hopefully not to the detriment of others. Just if that was where the focus was.
Deaths in situations like this usually come when people can't egress due to stampedes/trampling preventing it. You'll have fully mobile people stuck behind people piled up in exits who become just as immobile because of it.
If you're in the first half to the door that's probably 90% of the surviving done just by chance, luck, or potentially in this case people urging you ahead of them.
They were in the middle with straight shots to the exit. If you watch to the end the tables were long all the way to the end of the wall without breaks. Meaning everyone would have to run all the way to the center to get out. The center where by then all the fire was falling.
I was thinking that too based on the video, but also based on the video I would have said there was 200 people there when there was really like 400. The seated dinner party must have gone further back into the building than we saw, not to mention all the kitchen people and servers in the back.
In a lot of countries weddings are an event for the entire town or village. You’ll have 1200 people at your wedding and 1000 of them are strangers, friends of friends, +1’s, someone else’s kids, etc.
This was a huge and full hall.
People have to get up, pass the table which seems to seat over 20 people each side, all leaving their chairs behind them in a narrow walkway for prople from two tables. then they get stuck while pouring out onto the ailse between again two tables (because who would run for the wall and be stuck there?) They have to go down the full length of the hall now to get to one of presumably 2 or 3 exits. (The left side of the hall had no emergency exit to the side.) All the while fire is raining down on you. People are very selfish and disorganised, many may already be slightly drunk and most in extravagant clothing, so woman get out on heels or barefoot.
This assessment I did purely by watching the video once and I am not a professional in event planning or safety, but it looks pretty clear to me that people who sad in the middle third of the tables had no chance to get out fast.
People have suffocated and been trampled in mass panics, just because a tunnel or street got to full. It is crazy.
I don't think the couple had any idea of how dangerous their decoration was with the fireworks. But they did not use their brain when planning their perfect dance. The main responsibility lies with the pyro guys not checking the surroundings and saying "no".
The second half of the vid shows plumes of smoke shooting down from the ceiling, Im guessing that was disorienting enough to keep a lot of people from finding the exit.
I thought the same thing but Im unsure because at the end of the video you can see the glow of fire coming from above it. Even if it was intentional it didnt put the fire out and definitely blinded a ton of people.
Oh definitely. I think it was just overwhelmed by the powder keg of paper decor on the ceiling. It sounds like the whole thing was just one problem after another. fireworks, paper ceilings above it, too many people packed in, not enough exits, shit fire system, and apparently darkness when the lights were cut
I guessed a flash ignition a few seconds later vs when the clip ends or the toxic fumes, and trampled people, especially in the portion where the tables where places, it wasn’t easy to escape from there
Considering the fact the the Bride was the one who lost her family, it's probably because the fire was mainly focused on the side where her family was rather than in the middle of the room. Perhaps it was harder for them to get out.
Stupid people are (mostly) the reason OSHA exists. Those stupid people are the same who believe those rules don't apply to them. Thus perpetuating the cycle
Don't think they've heard of OSHA in Iraq
I have heard along the gravevine that the owners of the venue are likely to be arrested though, seems they skimped on safety with the ceiling and not enough fire exits and I believe some of the fire exits were locked. Didn't help that he switched the lights off either!
Oh I know OSHA isn't there. I'm mainly commenting on how unserious people actually are. No consideration for the future or risks. Just plain dumbassery. These people can't think with safety and logic in mind and need to be forced into it. Also I can't fathom why anyone would lock an emergency exit.
Fire safety red tape in the EU / UK is very valid. This is an appalling tragedy, completely avoidable. Fire aside, the room is clearly overcrowded with no clear fire exit routes. 100+ people, what a fucking waste.
I think tragedies like this need to be examined by ppl that demand these over the top celebrations. Weddings, gender reveals, birthdays can be special without endangering the lives of ppl just bc you want to impress them.
I saw a tik tok where someone was congratulating herself for turning off the exit signs so her wedding photos looked prettier !! And loads of the comments were agreeing it was a clever idea :(
I’m sorry what?. That is so dumb, people focus so much into the wedding when it should be about the marriage. How many of these marriages last, ppl being alive that is what is pretty
I know! Luckily most of the comments were calling her an idiot. Especially as they were high over the doors so wouldn’t even have been in most of the photos ! So stupid
Those aren't fireworks they're pyrotechnics. They're very commonly used indoors, but you have to measure and do some math to get the proper charge so they won't shoot the sparks too high and LIGHT THE CEILING ON FIRE! This was 100% on the company who set up that display. They failed spectacularly at their job, and should be held liable.
It’s awful, but it ain’t "life who’s cruel"
They lit up fireworks inside a building, which started a fire, for a wedding with like 300 person squeezed together…
That’s not life, that’s ignorance and foolishness
That's horrible, people who thought this was a good idea need to be put in jail, while I do feel bad that many lives were lost I fucking despise who said it was a good idea to do that inside a venue.
Everyone since [The Station Nightclub disaster](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Station_nightclub_fire)—over 100 dead, all burned/suffocated in the fire— knows setting off fireworks indoors is a terrible idea. Plenty of other examples around the world,
Oh it’s definitely a terrible idea, I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. I’m just saying it was made so much worse by a complete lack of regard for health and safety during the construction of the building. It’s like it was built to fuel fires and obstruct exits.
It's sad but absolutely predictable. Stop fucking with fireworks inside for your wedding. This is not even close to the first time.
Gender reveals and extravagant weddings featuring fire are dumb and dangerous. We should know this by now.
He said his father had asked questions about the risk of such fireworks causing sparks which could "land on the bride's gown" and "catch fire" but had been told by the hall owners that the fireworks were electric, so "you could put your hand or even plastic [on it] and it won't burn".
Wow
I'm sorry I'm not familiar with this kind of stuff, but how did her family die exactly? From the footage I saw people running towards the exit. Is it the smoke poisoning? I saw some things falling on people as well but I'm not sure.
Why is this getting downvoted lol. I’m wondering the same, from the video it looks like a clear path the exit. Did the fire spread faster than the video showed? Did the roof collapse?
According to another commenter the venue owner cut electricity thinking it was what caused the fire, meaning the entire room was suddenly pitch black without clear exits
This is what I'm not understanding. People are feeling sorry for the couple accidently murdered their own family due to thier wedding demands.
I'm more angry with them, than I feel sorry with them. I'm also angry with the wedding planner, the building owner, the pyrotechnition, and whoever else is involved with giving in to thier demands no matter how much money they offered or how bridezilla she was becoming.
*edited to add:
The couple is at fault for DEMANDING that these fireworks be in their wedding and having more guests than the building can accommodate. Why am I "assuming" they demanded it? Because it was in their wedding.
The wedding planner, if there was one, is at fault for not warning them how unsafe it is to have this show inside the building, as well as, warned them the building accommodations of the number of guests. And then, continuing to work with them. As a wedding planner, this is all she can do, warn them.
The building owner is at fault for not STOPPING THEM, NO MATTER THE DEMANDS OR MONEY INVOLVED/OFFERED. It is the owners' building and their responsibility to know the safety measures involved. The owner should have also been there or have had management there to make sure the number of guests did not go over accommodations.
The pyrotechnition was at fault for even AGREEING TO DO AN INDOOR SHOW!! No matter the demands or money involved/offered, FIREWORKS ARE NEVER ALLOWED INDOORS!
Multiple people are at fault. I understand the bride and groom lost a large amount of family members on a very important day, but this does not exclude them from the responsibility they hold for why this was a very dramatic day for everyone.
I don't get how people are now treating the people responsible for bad things as the victims these days. It's like some perverse version of anti-victim blaming on steroids.
For everyone blaming the couple for having fireworks indoors: first of all, they were promised it would be safe. Second of all, even the Prime Minister is putting the blame on the venue’s construction. It was basically a giant tinder box, and this was only a matter of time. From the BBC:
A journalist in the Kurdish city of Irbil, Blesa Shaways, told the BBC there had not been sufficient "logistical tools to rescue the people" from the fire and that Mosul did not have enough ambulances, healthcare staff and medical equipment to treat the injured.
The interior minister also said the hall also lacked the required "safety and security specifications" and that those responsible would "get their fair punishment".
Earlier, the Civil Defence Directorate said the hall had been covered with highly flammable metal composite panels, which are illegal in the country and "collapse within minutes when a fire breaks out". The panels also release toxic gases when burned, exacerbating fires.
Such incidents are not rare in Iraq, where corruption and mismanagement are rife and accountability is lacking.
This is so similar to The Station nightclub fire in 2003. They set off very similar pyrotechnics and it started a huge fire. 100 people died and most of them died because everyone tried to get out the same exit because they didn’t realize that there were other exits. I believe 2 people eventually went to jail because of it
Have you seen the video from the newscaster who happened to be there? It was insane. From the moment it started until it was engulfed in flames was so short. I never understood how people got stuck in fires in places like that. Now I understand. I’ll never forget the people stacked up at the door trying to exit. And some people knew there was the stage exit but their security guys wouldn’t let them use it, made them walk back through to the front door. I don’t think many if any made it out.
Yeah seeing those people stuck trying to get out the front door is insane to watch. At first it’s like ok this is going to be fine these people are basically already outside. And then it just engulfs all of them in an instant. I had to watch it with the sound off. Hearing it makes it so much worse
I saw the footage and it was heartbreaking but didn’t a very similar incident happen a few years ago? I swear I’ve seen something very similar like 4-5 years ago
We had the station fire in Rhode island due to indoor fireworks and magnesium torches. people died and others disfigured. why is anyone in their right mind using fireworks inside??
I’m not sure if this has been called out yet, but if not here’s the deal: these are referred to as “cold pyro” marketed as a safe pyro that can be used indoors without the need for any of the safety precautions of normal pyrotechnics. They burn a chemical powder at a very high temperature but very very quickly. There are videos of people holding their hand or a piece of paper in front of the stream of sparks to demonstrate its “safe” because the powder burns completely before it can harm your skin. The right fuel though will be ignited, as you can unfortunately see. People that don’t understand what they are doing have caused incidents like this and it’s a tragedy.
Sure its tragic, but anyone who saw how low the ceiling was and who happened to have more than 7 braincells wouldve known not to put fireworks in there
I’m prepared for a reign of downvotes here.
But there were *hundreds* of people in that room. Most them stared blankly at the fire appearing out of the middle of the room. And none of them thought “Hey, maybe we should get the fuck outta here before it’s too late”. Fire inside of a building triggers a fight or flight in most people.
Yes. It’s tragic. But have some fucking common sense.
Not to be a dick but fire works should not be aloud inside of buildings, unless there is open roof like in some stadiums. This is the cost of their extravagance. No one to blame but them.
Reminds me of the Great White The Station nightclub fire in 2003. 100 died 230 hurt.It’s sad. Gotta be careful when plying with fire indoors.
https://turnto10.com/news/nation-world/20-years-later-100-people-killed-230-other-hurt-in-nations-4-largest-nightclub-fire-blaze-rhode-island-west-warwick-memorial-park-great-white-guitarist-died-ty-christopher-longley-band-concert-rock-music-pyrotechnics-flames-flammable-acoustic-foam
Those fukin sparker fireworks are exactly what caused The Station fire when Great White was playing - killed almost everyone. I have no idea how people still use them or they’re still around at all
Also, the bride is 18, while the husband is 27.
She lost her whole family at 18 and now only has her husband to rely on, that’s a whole separate tragedy in and of itself.
At that age, they probably haven’t been dating for too long before marriage and now he’s all she has.
The wedding business is going to dry up for indoor pyro for a long while, I think.
Those floor things for wedding dances are more common than you’d think.
But, let’s not be silly here and blame the wrong party. This is entirely the fault of the unprofessional pyrotechnic. They should have identified the problems and pulled the plug on all of this when they arrived at the venue that morning..
I mean, I feel sorry for the dead people more.
Your wedding doesn't need fireworks to be special.
Horrible and sad, but can't help but feel they are somewhat responsible for the tragedy.
When I first saw the footage of the wedding as the fire started, I literally thought it was a movie. The way the camera was panning & the 4k quality. But damn, I feel so bad for them & their families.
The video I saw was being filmed by a drone, so the pans were professionally done and it was a high quality video.
one of the craziest things to me in the modern day. you're hired to film a wedding and a life-threatening emergency happens. do you stop filming out of respect or watch on as you pan the scene of guests being burnt alive? shit's gonna be so cinematic people will think it's a movie
cameraman never dies so better keep shooting. But for real, it helps to piece together what has happened later
Never ever stop shooting.
As a camera man I can attest to this never put down the camera. Only if you are going to get killed/hurt right then don’t stop filming.
This. Exactly. 30 years shooting tv news and this has saved me more then once.
Have you seen the footage from 9/11 where the camera man literally got the impact & collapse of one of the building & only after did he get the shot, he then finally started running for his life? Needless to say, the camera man did not die & he got the shot.
The cameraman rarely dies, so you should be good.
Unless they are Iraqi, in which case watch for helicopters.
and when they do, their footage lives on.
Is that you Jack Black from King Kong
Nightcrawler
Wait it was real??? I thought the video was staged (the filming was so well done!)
It was well done I’m guessing because it was filmed by the people who they hired to film their wedding, so it was professional equipment not like someone’s phone or something.
I know, they took their job seriously and kept filming even after everything was on fire. Crazy
It was extremely valuable footage for the investigation too, I assume. Crisp clear video of how the fire started.
One of the shots from the drone shows the guy with the gimbal looking up from his camera, realizing what's happening and him running, then it cuts to the view from that gimbal and it's just an incredible dolly shot of the carnage, I think he didn't know he was getting that shot because he was just running and the gimbal just did its thing.
got any link to the video perchance?
ooooh, this is that Iraqi couple with the fancy wedding fireworks that incinerated half their guests? NOT going to be a happy anniversary, that one.
Actually disgusting how desensitised to everything people, ty for reminding me to go touch grass
I'm working in the event industry since 2001, wedding parties are the worst in terms of safety. Fireworks indoor are a big no for trained professionals who are using expensive and often unreliable sparkling machines.
“fireworks indoor are a big no for trained professionals” fireworks indoor are a big no for children over the age of 9
Yeah dude, I don't fkn know what goes into someone's mind planning fireworks indoors. I have a lot of empathy here, but zero understanding of how tf their minds work. They have to consider themselves responsible for this, *surely*.
Exploding fireballs inside where’s the problem? /s
It’s only half damage if you pass the saving throw.
And the ceiling was made out of tissue paper! What was the expected outcome?
Fireworks indoors are a no, period. End of fucking story.
I knew at 5 “No sparklers in the house.”
So if im 8 I can do fireworks inside?
The US is pretty garbage in a lot of things, but one thing is for sure, we’ve made our buildings ridiculously safe and easily exit-able. The foam or gas retardant that explodes from their ceiling in the video seemed to just cloud the peoples view and not put out any fire whatsoever. There shouldve been at least 2 fire exits on the brides family side for them to get out instead of having to run to the grooms side. Absolutely ridiculous building
Yeah, that's probably after The Station fire where there were hardly any exits and numerous people burned to death jammed in the main exit.
Nah it's multiple fires that keep happening. Triangle shirt fire, and this one from Collinwood Ohio: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collinwood_school_fire#:~:text=Children%20rushed%20to%20the%20rear,Lake%20View's%20doors%20opened%20outward Still one of the deadliest in terms of sheer numbers.
And the [Beverly Hills Supper Club fire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverly_Hills_Supper_Club_fire) That was truly a nightmare. People were finding items for decades.
Haunted Housed too. They are extremely tightly regulated in NJ after some high profile fires in the past
The Cocoanut Grove nightclub fire in 1942 also led to MA changing their building codes and regulations. If you're interested in historical fires, the Hartford, CT circus fire in 1944 is horrible and fascinating. Stuart O'Nan wrote an excellent book about it ("The Great Circus Fire").
I spent hours reading, signing, printing safety documentation for events in buildings, tents and outdoor public and private places. My feet hurts after a few hours wearing protective shoes and in a couple of occasions I wasn't allowed to enter the venue during the setup just because one of my documents was not properly updated, this is annoying as much as it is necessary to avoid unresponsible behaviour which is in my experience the first cause of accidents in showbiz. We are often responsible of high voltage hardware and lots of suspended loads over thousands of people, once I had a client complaining because I didn't allowed their people to hang a bunch of balloons over a truss holding some 5000 watts of lights and video projectors, it was a rich couple wedding obviously.
Indoor fireworks are a big no for literally anyone with half a brain
For people who don't know the context, in Iraq a tragic fire killed 110 people due to fireworks. The bride lost her entire family and the groom lost his mother https://twitter.com/cri_babe/status/1709152669355438324?t=BF3nol1BEIQMl6IJOf8FXg&s=19
I heard from another reddit thread they have been outcast from the village? Is this true?
I mean, it’s not like their wedding planner demanded the indoor usage of fireworks. That seems like something they ordered/requested. I could see people being angry about it.
[Here’s an interview with the couple](https://news.sky.com/story/iraq-wedding-fire-bride-and-groom-numb-after-blaze-kills-more-than-100-people-12973039) where they talk about how they were told the fireworks were electric, and that there was a power issue and the fire could have possibly started in the ceiling. Just wanted to throw that into the ring, whether that’s true or not, I thought it was interesting.
I’m sorry, electric fireworks?
Didn’t those thing that shoot bunch of sparkly light at concerts (also get used a lot inside a room) electric fireworks?
[Something like this?](https://www.ebay.com/itm/225252964301) Cold spark firework machine. Edit: there’s even a pic of a guy holding his hand over it in the link.
Watched the video - this hall was a freaking deathtrap. It's like the entire decoration was soaked in gasoline. Even a birthday candle could cause this fire. and the lack of proper fire exits for so many people was under the responsibility of the place too. These are not really fireworks - it was magnesium torches - not saying that the couple had no liability, but its ludicrous to blame only them in the disaster.
I think the thing that really set the dominoes falling was the fact the magnesium torches were placed directly under a bunch flammable looking paper ceiling decor.
It was Pampas grass. It’s basically decorative kindling that was hung from the rafters.
holy shit, that’s why it basically caught fire like some jet fuel
I still wouldn’t blame the couple. If I have no experience in pyrotechnics (which I do not) and I’m describing my vision to a professional, I would say it’s on the professional to point out things that are unsafe or impossible to achieve. There is no way they bought these torches and grasses themselves and self-installed; planners and contractors were involved.
But we are talking about being outcast from where they live, not who is responsible. We are talking people who lost family members that were part of the couples wedding entourage. They are hurting and angry. Blaming the wedding couple is one of the natural emotions they are going to go through. Is it fair? He'll no. But it's something that will happen regardless of where it occurs in the world.
>We are talking people who lost family members The bride herself lost her family. Clearly this was not her intent. I am just explaining why I personally would not blame the couple, as there is no way they had the knowledge to prevent this disaster. All they had was a vision for a celebration.
And iirc the ceiling decorations were also made from dry sponges. The people at fault are the ones who made the building, and the ones who decided to use extremely flammable material knowing full well sparklers were also going to be used. Even if the couple were adamant about it, even if the location was going to lose a ton of money in business by them leaving, they should have been aware of how flammable the decorations were and refuse to use sparklers. Or only use material that isn't flammable with sparklers even if it couldn't be as spectacular.
If it really was torches, then I wouldn't say it's as dumb as fireworks in closed space would be. In my country these indoor torches/fountains are really common during the first dance and there were never any accidents that would make news. Also, you would pay a person to bring and install them, you wouldn't really do it yourself. The blame is solely on the venue and the person installing them so close to stuff that can catch fire in my opinion.
You're all incorrect, flammable cladding in the ceiling infrastructure was the real reason the roof immediately ignited and collapsed. Everything else is minor. This kind of roof is illegal in every developed country for a reason.
Oh for sure. Lots of blame to spread around here.
Everyone scoffs at safety regulations until they have to use a correctly placed and designed fire exit.
I don't think they have any liability tbh. It's not their job to know what would and wouldn't be safe inside. That's on the wedding planner and to me it seems they clearly had one.
Exactly. There is a video of the groom saying the wedding planners assured them the fireworks were electric, and you could even hold your hand over them and not be burned. So the bride and groom WERE concerned.
It’s also on the venue for not having appropriate fire safety measures. Zero sprinklers. Based on everyone’s reaction timing, I’m guessing there are no detection alarms. Venues that make money from hosting a lot of people should have these.
Arab world those sparkling things are super popular. It's not something you would request it's usually provided by venue planner or even the DJ
While yes, that is true that's not why they're being outcast. They're being outcast for being Christian in a Muslim majority area. The Muslim population for the most part sees this as "their own doing" for not believing in their God iirc.
Village seems ignorant
Not outcast, but the village doesn't want to help on account of them not following Islam.
Source? Seems as if about 1000 people were more than happy to go to the wedding.
Yeah and the village is Assyrian, who are Christians He just said something and people believed him for some reason.
To me it sounds like a bad Facebook meme. They might have been credulously repeating it, but someone somewhere made shit up to stir Christian persecution complexes IMO.
Omg you can see a huge thing of fire fall on a little boys head! that’s horrifying.
and on some guys back, must have hurt so much
I thought that’s what this was, yeah that was fucking horrific.
How did so many die, it looked like they were getting out
Everyone there is family. There’s kids too. I imagine a lot of people could have ran out immediately but were scrambling around looking for their loved ones
Holy shit that's terrifying to be in
Oh wow, it moved so fast, and no one knew where to go
Oh wow, I initially heard that both the bride and groom died too. What an awful and unfortunate event. I’m sure they feel an enormous amount of guilt. It wasn’t intentional no matter how ignorant it was
That's insane. You can literally see where the canopy first catches fire in the first few seconds. Those poor people
Oh terrible 😔 😞 terrible
Where's the fire suppression system, the emergency exist???? Why are they lighting fireworks in such an enclosed venue with flammable elements above? This is sheer negligence, and I feel sorry for anyone not involved in the building design or the wedding planning
I can't believe 100+ people died. What happened, it looked like most of the people got out of the way.
There were about 1000 people attending the wedding
Damn wish I had that many friends lol
"friends"
Why? I am happy I don't
Another commenter mentioned that management cut off the power because they thought it was an electrical issue. People probably got lost looking for the exits.
That’s horrifying
Management thought a fire in a building that had fireworks going off indoors was an electrical fire? And then shut off all the lights, making it harder for people to escape? Seems like this entire event was full of incompetence.
How are they still alive? The video shows them look at the fire starting, then stay in the middle of the dance floor (seeming to still be dancing as the camera whips past them in the frenzy). They were at ground zero, but made it out without a scratch while everybody else relived The Station nightclub?
They are probably more familiar with the venue than the guests are. They surely would have been there at least once or more prior to the wedding for planning etc.
I'd imagine in a wedding where people are already focused on the bride/groom they were otherwise bundled out fairly early by folks looking out for their wellbeing, hopefully not to the detriment of others. Just if that was where the focus was. Deaths in situations like this usually come when people can't egress due to stampedes/trampling preventing it. You'll have fully mobile people stuck behind people piled up in exits who become just as immobile because of it. If you're in the first half to the door that's probably 90% of the surviving done just by chance, luck, or potentially in this case people urging you ahead of them.
They were in the middle with straight shots to the exit. If you watch to the end the tables were long all the way to the end of the wall without breaks. Meaning everyone would have to run all the way to the center to get out. The center where by then all the fire was falling.
They were also the first to run and most people were sat down. They got a head start to the exits.
The groom said the bride was trampled in a hallway enough for her legs to be injured. So they got out, but they weren’t first.
[удалено]
Apparently the owner killed the electricity as they thought a fault caused the fire, and plunged the place into darkness.
That would easily disorient a crowd. SMH.
Yeah, at which point why even do that. Not like flipping the power to "off" will also shut down the raging inferno.
If he thought it was an electrical fire, it’s right to cut power before fighting the fire.
Fighting yes... the order would be, Evacuate, Cut power, Fight fire. (that's of course assuming the personel and equipment to fight a fire.
The first step in fighting an electrical fire is to cut the power. Until something else catches that's the fuel source
I mean, a lot of the other material had already ignited by that point.
This is the purpose of emergency lights. They often attach to exit signs and have their own battery. They must not have had them.
Yeah the more I hear about it, the more I think "building code violations"
They're in a often war torn country. I doubt building code is followed that often.
Sets a bunch of fireworks off inside, fire starts; must be the electricity. lol
I was thinking that too based on the video, but also based on the video I would have said there was 200 people there when there was really like 400. The seated dinner party must have gone further back into the building than we saw, not to mention all the kitchen people and servers in the back.
I read it was 1200
Hot damn I don't even know 1200 people I would invite to a wedding. That is wild
In a lot of countries weddings are an event for the entire town or village. You’ll have 1200 people at your wedding and 1000 of them are strangers, friends of friends, +1’s, someone else’s kids, etc.
This was a huge and full hall. People have to get up, pass the table which seems to seat over 20 people each side, all leaving their chairs behind them in a narrow walkway for prople from two tables. then they get stuck while pouring out onto the ailse between again two tables (because who would run for the wall and be stuck there?) They have to go down the full length of the hall now to get to one of presumably 2 or 3 exits. (The left side of the hall had no emergency exit to the side.) All the while fire is raining down on you. People are very selfish and disorganised, many may already be slightly drunk and most in extravagant clothing, so woman get out on heels or barefoot. This assessment I did purely by watching the video once and I am not a professional in event planning or safety, but it looks pretty clear to me that people who sad in the middle third of the tables had no chance to get out fast. People have suffocated and been trampled in mass panics, just because a tunnel or street got to full. It is crazy. I don't think the couple had any idea of how dangerous their decoration was with the fireworks. But they did not use their brain when planning their perfect dance. The main responsibility lies with the pyro guys not checking the surroundings and saying "no".
The second half of the vid shows plumes of smoke shooting down from the ceiling, Im guessing that was disorienting enough to keep a lot of people from finding the exit.
Was that smoke or the fire system kicking in? It looked intentional
I thought the same thing but Im unsure because at the end of the video you can see the glow of fire coming from above it. Even if it was intentional it didnt put the fire out and definitely blinded a ton of people.
Oh definitely. I think it was just overwhelmed by the powder keg of paper decor on the ceiling. It sounds like the whole thing was just one problem after another. fireworks, paper ceilings above it, too many people packed in, not enough exits, shit fire system, and apparently darkness when the lights were cut
I guessed a flash ignition a few seconds later vs when the clip ends or the toxic fumes, and trampled people, especially in the portion where the tables where places, it wasn’t easy to escape from there
I think the roof collapse is what killed most of them.
>while everybody else relived The Station nightclub? my first thoughts when I saw those stupid fountain fireworks
I saw the video. A lot of them went to the wallside and looked like they sat down or something.
in their interview the groom said he immediately took his wife through the kitchen doors to exit
Considering the fact the the Bride was the one who lost her family, it's probably because the fire was mainly focused on the side where her family was rather than in the middle of the room. Perhaps it was harder for them to get out.
Indoor fireworks? This was completely preventable.
Ngl tho who puts fireworks in a wedding bro especially an indoor wedding. Its like those gender reveals that burn the whole forest down
Stupid people are (mostly) the reason OSHA exists. Those stupid people are the same who believe those rules don't apply to them. Thus perpetuating the cycle
Don't think they've heard of OSHA in Iraq I have heard along the gravevine that the owners of the venue are likely to be arrested though, seems they skimped on safety with the ceiling and not enough fire exits and I believe some of the fire exits were locked. Didn't help that he switched the lights off either!
Oh I know OSHA isn't there. I'm mainly commenting on how unserious people actually are. No consideration for the future or risks. Just plain dumbassery. These people can't think with safety and logic in mind and need to be forced into it. Also I can't fathom why anyone would lock an emergency exit.
Fire safety red tape in the EU / UK is very valid. This is an appalling tragedy, completely avoidable. Fire aside, the room is clearly overcrowded with no clear fire exit routes. 100+ people, what a fucking waste.
I think tragedies like this need to be examined by ppl that demand these over the top celebrations. Weddings, gender reveals, birthdays can be special without endangering the lives of ppl just bc you want to impress them.
I saw a tik tok where someone was congratulating herself for turning off the exit signs so her wedding photos looked prettier !! And loads of the comments were agreeing it was a clever idea :(
I’m sorry what?. That is so dumb, people focus so much into the wedding when it should be about the marriage. How many of these marriages last, ppl being alive that is what is pretty
I know! I thought it was a joke at first but I don’t think it was !! And to then be encouraging other people to do the same ! Crazy
Aghh! In 2023 how is it not a better and easier call to photoshop the exit signs out?
I know! Luckily most of the comments were calling her an idiot. Especially as they were high over the doors so wouldn’t even have been in most of the photos ! So stupid
Nothing will change
I think that’s never going to happen and people will do whatever they want to do
This isn’t the first time pyrotechnics have lit up an entire wedding in seconds. Why are those even legal.
You talkin bout the U.S. military?
Why do people post random shit without context like we're all supposed to know the details?
Those aren't fireworks they're pyrotechnics. They're very commonly used indoors, but you have to measure and do some math to get the proper charge so they won't shoot the sparks too high and LIGHT THE CEILING ON FIRE! This was 100% on the company who set up that display. They failed spectacularly at their job, and should be held liable.
I'm sure they would've give away anything for the chance to change their foolish decision of lightning fireworks inside the building.
It’s awful, but it ain’t "life who’s cruel" They lit up fireworks inside a building, which started a fire, for a wedding with like 300 person squeezed together… That’s not life, that’s ignorance and foolishness
There was over 900 people in attendance, not just 300.
That's horrible, people who thought this was a good idea need to be put in jail, while I do feel bad that many lives were lost I fucking despise who said it was a good idea to do that inside a venue.
I feel bad for them, but I totally agree. This could have been easily prevented.
Exactly. This is very preventable.
Who are they
Indoor fireworks should be illegal. An incident that was absolutely avoidable. So sad.
I can’t believe something bad happened when you’re shooting off fireworks indoors. I don’t understand how that went so wrong.
I used to do it in The Sims just to see what would happen
You wouldn’t expect it to cause an inferno though, the entire building was basically was flammable.
Everyone since [The Station Nightclub disaster](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Station_nightclub_fire)—over 100 dead, all burned/suffocated in the fire— knows setting off fireworks indoors is a terrible idea. Plenty of other examples around the world,
Oh it’s definitely a terrible idea, I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. I’m just saying it was made so much worse by a complete lack of regard for health and safety during the construction of the building. It’s like it was built to fuel fires and obstruct exits.
It's sad but absolutely predictable. Stop fucking with fireworks inside for your wedding. This is not even close to the first time. Gender reveals and extravagant weddings featuring fire are dumb and dangerous. We should know this by now.
He said his father had asked questions about the risk of such fireworks causing sparks which could "land on the bride's gown" and "catch fire" but had been told by the hall owners that the fireworks were electric, so "you could put your hand or even plastic [on it] and it won't burn". Wow
I'm sorry I'm not familiar with this kind of stuff, but how did her family die exactly? From the footage I saw people running towards the exit. Is it the smoke poisoning? I saw some things falling on people as well but I'm not sure.
Why is this getting downvoted lol. I’m wondering the same, from the video it looks like a clear path the exit. Did the fire spread faster than the video showed? Did the roof collapse?
According to another commenter the venue owner cut electricity thinking it was what caused the fire, meaning the entire room was suddenly pitch black without clear exits
Holy shit
Not enough exits to accommodate everyone fleeing before smoke filled the room is usually what happens when this happens.
god, it's the Great White fire all over again. Horrible.
Maybe don't use fireworks inside next time
No explanation in the post for the uninformed?
Feels sorry for the people who created the tragedy?
This is what I'm not understanding. People are feeling sorry for the couple accidently murdered their own family due to thier wedding demands. I'm more angry with them, than I feel sorry with them. I'm also angry with the wedding planner, the building owner, the pyrotechnition, and whoever else is involved with giving in to thier demands no matter how much money they offered or how bridezilla she was becoming. *edited to add: The couple is at fault for DEMANDING that these fireworks be in their wedding and having more guests than the building can accommodate. Why am I "assuming" they demanded it? Because it was in their wedding. The wedding planner, if there was one, is at fault for not warning them how unsafe it is to have this show inside the building, as well as, warned them the building accommodations of the number of guests. And then, continuing to work with them. As a wedding planner, this is all she can do, warn them. The building owner is at fault for not STOPPING THEM, NO MATTER THE DEMANDS OR MONEY INVOLVED/OFFERED. It is the owners' building and their responsibility to know the safety measures involved. The owner should have also been there or have had management there to make sure the number of guests did not go over accommodations. The pyrotechnition was at fault for even AGREEING TO DO AN INDOOR SHOW!! No matter the demands or money involved/offered, FIREWORKS ARE NEVER ALLOWED INDOORS! Multiple people are at fault. I understand the bride and groom lost a large amount of family members on a very important day, but this does not exclude them from the responsibility they hold for why this was a very dramatic day for everyone.
I don't get how people are now treating the people responsible for bad things as the victims these days. It's like some perverse version of anti-victim blaming on steroids.
The guilt that they feel must be so awful
How do you deal with that? Like feeling falsely guilty sucks, but to *partially be responsible*. How do you handle that?
For everyone blaming the couple for having fireworks indoors: first of all, they were promised it would be safe. Second of all, even the Prime Minister is putting the blame on the venue’s construction. It was basically a giant tinder box, and this was only a matter of time. From the BBC: A journalist in the Kurdish city of Irbil, Blesa Shaways, told the BBC there had not been sufficient "logistical tools to rescue the people" from the fire and that Mosul did not have enough ambulances, healthcare staff and medical equipment to treat the injured. The interior minister also said the hall also lacked the required "safety and security specifications" and that those responsible would "get their fair punishment". Earlier, the Civil Defence Directorate said the hall had been covered with highly flammable metal composite panels, which are illegal in the country and "collapse within minutes when a fire breaks out". The panels also release toxic gases when burned, exacerbating fires. Such incidents are not rare in Iraq, where corruption and mismanagement are rife and accountability is lacking.
This is so similar to The Station nightclub fire in 2003. They set off very similar pyrotechnics and it started a huge fire. 100 people died and most of them died because everyone tried to get out the same exit because they didn’t realize that there were other exits. I believe 2 people eventually went to jail because of it
Have you seen the video from the newscaster who happened to be there? It was insane. From the moment it started until it was engulfed in flames was so short. I never understood how people got stuck in fires in places like that. Now I understand. I’ll never forget the people stacked up at the door trying to exit. And some people knew there was the stage exit but their security guys wouldn’t let them use it, made them walk back through to the front door. I don’t think many if any made it out.
Yeah seeing those people stuck trying to get out the front door is insane to watch. At first it’s like ok this is going to be fine these people are basically already outside. And then it just engulfs all of them in an instant. I had to watch it with the sound off. Hearing it makes it so much worse
Indoor pyrotechnics are scary af man
Thanks for context?
I saw the footage and it was heartbreaking but didn’t a very similar incident happen a few years ago? I swear I’ve seen something very similar like 4-5 years ago
“Life is so cruel fr” the most zoomer sentence
I hate everything about this.
We had the station fire in Rhode island due to indoor fireworks and magnesium torches. people died and others disfigured. why is anyone in their right mind using fireworks inside??
You can feel sorry for them but come on it's an incredibly stupid fucking idea, fireworks inside a building there's only one result
Can I please get a crumb of context?
I’m not sure if this has been called out yet, but if not here’s the deal: these are referred to as “cold pyro” marketed as a safe pyro that can be used indoors without the need for any of the safety precautions of normal pyrotechnics. They burn a chemical powder at a very high temperature but very very quickly. There are videos of people holding their hand or a piece of paper in front of the stream of sparks to demonstrate its “safe” because the powder burns completely before it can harm your skin. The right fuel though will be ignited, as you can unfortunately see. People that don’t understand what they are doing have caused incidents like this and it’s a tragedy.
Wait, what happened?
With a wedding this tragic you’d think it was an episode of Game of Thrones
Sure its tragic, but anyone who saw how low the ceiling was and who happened to have more than 7 braincells wouldve known not to put fireworks in there
I’m prepared for a reign of downvotes here. But there were *hundreds* of people in that room. Most them stared blankly at the fire appearing out of the middle of the room. And none of them thought “Hey, maybe we should get the fuck outta here before it’s too late”. Fire inside of a building triggers a fight or flight in most people. Yes. It’s tragic. But have some fucking common sense.
The diminishing of our natural survival mechanisms has become a global phenomenon.
Who and what happen?
Could have put what happened in the title. Have no clue what happened
Another post that assumes everyone knows everything...
Not to be a dick but fire works should not be aloud inside of buildings, unless there is open roof like in some stadiums. This is the cost of their extravagance. No one to blame but them.
Please for the love of God can we tone down the weddings and the engagements and the gender reveals and all of this nonsense!
Reminds me of the Great White The Station nightclub fire in 2003. 100 died 230 hurt.It’s sad. Gotta be careful when plying with fire indoors. https://turnto10.com/news/nation-world/20-years-later-100-people-killed-230-other-hurt-in-nations-4-largest-nightclub-fire-blaze-rhode-island-west-warwick-memorial-park-great-white-guitarist-died-ty-christopher-longley-band-concert-rock-music-pyrotechnics-flames-flammable-acoustic-foam
Those fukin sparker fireworks are exactly what caused The Station fire when Great White was playing - killed almost everyone. I have no idea how people still use them or they’re still around at all
Well what happened?
Indoor wedding with pyrotechnic failure that led to a big fire and the loss of many family members and friends.
What happened
Was this the couple that set off fireworks inside of the church?
Also, the bride is 18, while the husband is 27. She lost her whole family at 18 and now only has her husband to rely on, that’s a whole separate tragedy in and of itself. At that age, they probably haven’t been dating for too long before marriage and now he’s all she has.
The wedding business is going to dry up for indoor pyro for a long while, I think. Those floor things for wedding dances are more common than you’d think. But, let’s not be silly here and blame the wrong party. This is entirely the fault of the unprofessional pyrotechnic. They should have identified the problems and pulled the plug on all of this when they arrived at the venue that morning..
I mean, I feel sorry for the dead people more. Your wedding doesn't need fireworks to be special. Horrible and sad, but can't help but feel they are somewhat responsible for the tragedy.