Kočani nightclub fire

Common card · No. 301105

On 16 March 2025, a fire at the Pulse nightclub in Kočani, North Macedonia, killed 63 people and injured 193. The fire started when sparks from indoor fireworks hit the ceiling and set it alight, rapidly enveloping the venue in thick and toxic smoke. The nightclub was unlicensed and broke numerous safety standards: among other things, it lacked sprinklers and sufficient emergency exits and only had a single fire extinguisher. Rescue efforts were hampered by the nightclub's location in a densely populated neighbourhood, which caused firetrucks difficulty in reaching it. Local hospitals were severely ill-equipped to deal with the influx of victims, with some left lying in the street due to an insufficient number of ambulances. Many of them suffered severe burns, smoke inhalation, and crush injuries after the crowd rushed for the exits. In response to the fire, the European Union (EU) activated its Civil Protection Mechanism to coordinate the air evacuation of victims, many of whom were transported...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Toshe Ognjanov, Public domain