Pyrotechnic devices will be banned in all enclosed public spaces across Switzerland from April 1, an interregional body announced Friday, two months after pyrotechnics sparked a deadly bar blaze in the Crans-Montana ski resort.
“As of April 1, 2026, pyrotechnic articles will be prohibited in premises open to the public,” the Intercantonal Authority for Technical Obstacles to Trade (AIET) said in a statement.
The body has powers delegated by Switzerland’s 26 cantons and holds jurisdiction throughout the country.
“This measure concerns enclosed establishments,” AIET chief Jean-Francois Steiert told AFP, without specifying the number of establishments affected across Switzerland.
The decision comes after a horrific fire ripped through the Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana crammed with young New Year revellers in the early hours of January 1, claiming 41 lives and injuring 115 others.
Initial findings of the investigation indicate the fire started when champagne bottles with sparklers attached were raised too close to the ceiling in the bar’s basement level, igniting the sound insulation foam.
Since then, several cantons, including Wallis where Crans-Montana is located, Vaud and Geneva have announced bans on the use of pyrotechnic devices in indoor establishments open to the public.
The AIET also announced that it was extending by over a year — to October 2027 — the deadline to complete a “complete revision” underway of Swiss fire protection regulations.
Advertisement
It explained that it wished to allow time to study some 11,000 comments collected during the technical consultation and to “take into account the major conclusions that will be drawn based on the ongoing investigations into the tragic fire in Crans-Montana”.
The aim of the revision is “primarily to add rules regarding the frequency and quality of inspections”, Steiert explained.
The frequency of fire safety inspections is one of the issues in focus when it comes to the Crans-Montana fire.
The town’s local authorities triggered outrage when they revealed they had not conducted obligatory annual fire and safety inspections at the bar since 2019.
