A Night Club in Brazil Burns, Killing 233 People
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN ANCHOR: It's 5:00 p.m. on the East Coast, 2:00 p.m. out West. If you are just tuning in, thanks for joining us. I'm Miguel Marquez in for Fredricka Whitfield. A tragic end to the summer in Brazil, at least 233 people died, many of them college students in an early morning fire at a crowded nightclub in the southern city of Santa Maria. The students were celebrating the end of summer before heading back to classes on Monday. Fire officials say the Kiss night club was over capacity when the blaze broke out about 2:00 in the morning. Let's go to CNN's Rafael Romo for the latest.</s>RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN-AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: Rafael, how about this break out? At 2:00 a.m. this morning, it was spectacular show that was going there. There was a concert. And part of the concert involved pyrotechnics. Of course, you can imagine the flames shooting up. They got so way out that they apparently touched the foam, the insulation foam on the ceiling and firefighters are saying this preliminarily, that might have been the cause of the fire. It spread throughout the building very, very fast, creating dense smoke. And people started frantically run to try to get out of building. The problem was authorities are telling us, there were enough exits. It's the emergency exits for rich people to get out of there and they end up going to the restroom and the situation go more complicated.</s>MARQUEZ: A lot of bodies were found in the restrooms. Why was that?</s>ROMO: Because at one points, all of the emergency exits got blocked by people who were trying to get out of there. They got trampled. The authorities tell us the even security guards were at first trying to prevent people from leaving the place because they were afraid they wouldn't pay their tabs, which at that point, sounds ridiculous, but that's what happened. And so, people though that the second alternative was to go to the restrooms, and at least they would find water there but a lot of the people were also trampled there.</s>MARQUEZ: Authorities combing now through what must be very grisly scene, but they are even affected. They are finding what down there as they go through this tough situation?</s>ROMO: Part of the testimony that we have been listening to is comes from firefighters who got -- some of the first ones who got to the scene who told us they saw shoes strewn all over the floor of this place and also a lot of cell phones were going off at different times. Of course, you can imagine people, families, trying to get to -- tried to get in touch with ones who died there and also some of the others who went to the hospital.</s>MARQUEZ: Rafael, I can't even imagine. Our heart goes out. And Rafael Romo, thank you very much for keeping us updated on this story.</s>ROMO: Thank you.</s>MARQUEZ: Appreciate it. The U.S. has had its share of deadly nightclub fires. Our Susan Candiotti joins us from New York - Susan.</s>SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Miguel. You know, with so many advances in fire safety, these disasters should be easier to prevent. Here in the U.S., it's been nearly a decade since the last nightclub fire that caused mass casualties.</s>CANDIOTTI: In 2003, 100 people died at the station nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island, where the band Great White was performing. Pyrotechnics ignited soundproofing material. Smoke filled the room. In 1990, arson was the cause of the Happy Land fire in New York. It killed 87 people. Authorities said the Bronx Club was operating illegally, two years after it was ordered closed because of safety violations. In 1977, fire at the Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Kentucky, killed 165 people. Among 2,400 waiting for entertainer John Davidson to perform, which believed to be an electrical fire went undetected at first. There were no fire detectors or sprinklers. At the time, they weren't required. The deadliest nightclub blaze happened in 1942 at the Coconut Grove club in Boston. Four hundred ninety two people were killed. The cause of the blaze, to this day, remains unknown.</s>CANDIOTTI: Among the questions investigators will be asking, how badly the club may have been overcrowded and why. Were there smoke detectors and a sprinkler system? As fire experts tell us, there is very little time to escape.</s>ANGELO PISANI, PROFESSOR OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE, ST. JOHN'S UNIVERSITY: Well, what happens is the fire burnt and burns very rap applied like goes up heat and smoke at the ceiling level and then starts to descend very rapidly and I believe in some of those fires, about a minute and a half into the fire, it was at head level, where you can't breathe that smoke or gas without suffocating.</s>CANDIOTTI: According to eyewitnesses and investigators, suffocation appears to be the cause of death for so many in that Brazil fire - Miguel.</s>MARQUEZ: Susan, just terrible. Thank you very much. What kind of steps can we take when you're going out for a night, a club to dance, a concert, or some sort of crowded situation?</s>CANDIOTTI: Well, you know, there are a number of things that we all can do. We talked to safety experts who say you really have to pay attention to your surroundings. For example, if you see someone at the door to a club counting people who going in, that's likely a very good sign they are trying to prevent overcrowding. Also, look for sprinkler systems, smoke detectors, check out the exits, be sure to close to one. And at the first hint of trouble, get out do not hesitate to act. And if you don't see sprinkler systems or smoke detectors when you first arrive, you might think twice about sticking around - Miguel.</s>MARQUEZ: Susan Candiotti, thank you very much. Turning now to the debate over gun control. Republicans and Democrats took to the air waves today. Democratic senator Dianne Feinstein laid out her case for banning military-style rifles on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" today. Meanwhile, gun shows across the country this weekend saw increased traffic. Those selling guns are finding more and more customers and some of the buyers are complaining that vendors taking advantage of the situation by raising prices. That arctic blast, it isn't over yet. Parts of the Midwest and northeast are being slammed with a mixture of freezing rain and snow, icy roads and poor visibility are making travel dangerous. The cold weather will continue into the workweek with some areas in northeast getting light snow. Some scary moments for a group of 50 hikers in Arizona. They got trapped in raging waters while trying to cross a river. Police rushed to the scene after getting many emergency calls about stranded hikers, officials say it was a challenge to find them but eventually, all those hikers were rescued. Action could be taken soon on one of the most controversial elements of immigration reform. We will tell you what lawmakers are doing to tackle it.