Swiss ski bar not inspected for five years before deadly fire, Mayor says
By BBC, January 6, 2026When the fire occurred on New Year’s Day, the bar seemed to have many more people in it than legally permitted, which Feraud said was the responsibility of the managers of Le Constellation to regulate.
Feraud said the maximum capacity was 200 people, with emergency exits designed to cater for 100 people on each side of its two levels. However, he did not know if the exit on the basement level was working.
Swiss prosecutors have placed the two bar managers under criminal investigation, which local media have named asa French couple, Jacques and Jessica Moretti.
They are both suspected of manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence, the prosecutors’ office in Valais said.
Prosecutors have said they believe the fire started when people celebrating the New Year raised champagne bottles with sparklers attached, setting light to sound-insulating foam on the ceiling of the basement bar.
Feraud said the use of soundproofing material on the ceiling of the bar and allowing sparklers in the venue was extremely negligent.
Swiss national broadcaster RTS has shown footage from 2019 of partygoers holding bottles with sparklers. An employee warns them to be careful of the “mousse” – the French word for the acoustic foam panelling.
Questioned on the video, Feraud said it was likely no one in the council saw the images, and he wished it had been brought to his attention at the time as he would have investigated.
Feraud said while inspections of the facility were conducted in 2016, 2018 and 2019, there were none from 2020 to 2025.
He told the press conference in 2015that the owners renovated the bar and it did not require a permit, which was when the sound insulation foam was stuck on the ceiling.
“There were never any checks on this soundproofing foam. Our security agents did not consider it necessary,” Feraud said.
Investigators will be assessing several elements, including the nature of the foam and compliance with standards for access and emergency exits in the basement.
Accounts from reported scenes include that people pushed and shoved, notably on the staircase leading to the basement. Under Swiss regulations, doors are required to open in the direction of the exit and be clearly signposted.
Under Switzerland’s political system, power is distributed among three levels of the confederation, 26 cantons and then about 2,131 municipalities.
While safety regulations are set by cantons, they need to be implemented by local authorities.
The Crans-Montana’s failure to adhere to fire safety regulations by not inspecting Le Constellation from 2020 to 2025 may point to a potential fault with the system.