Guards Blocked Exit in Mexico City Disco Fire

M E X I C O   C I T Y, Oct. 22, 2000 -- With flames and smoke filling a glitzy MexicoCity nightclub, terrified patrons fled for the sole exit — only tofind the club’s guards barring the way to some, demanding they first pay theirbills, survivors said.

The blaze killed 20 people, and injured twodozen more.

The Lobohombo club was still packed at 5 a.m. when the blazestarted Friday. “Please! It’s burning! Open the door!” SaraFalcon said she and others pleaded to the guards who stopped themasking for tickets proving they’d paid.

“Everyone was shouting,” she told TV Azteca news, wiping awaytears. “Many people were on fire, yelling and throwing themselveson the floor. Others were yelling, ‘Open the door because peopleare burning!’”

Witnesses said patrons panicked when smoke began filling thedisco, and began scrambling to escape out the club’s only exit. Thebuilding had no emergency exits, authorities said. It took 90minutes to put out the blaze.

The Lobohombo with its mirrored facade, was one of the bestknown nightclubs in North America’s largest city. Gloria Estefanheld a party there in August and salsa superstar Willie Colon hadperformed there.

Short Circuit to Blame?

Hours after the tragedy, hundreds milled outside the charredbuilding, its mirrors shattered and blackened with smoke. Itstrademark, a sign featuring the face of a cartoon dog, was gone.

Police said a short circuit in the sound booth may have sparkedthe blaze, but firefighters said witnesses reported hearing severalexplosions. Officials put the death toll at 20.

Falcon’s aunt, Lorena Falcon Perez, said her 16-year-olddaughter was trapped in the flames, and later carried out of thebuilding as chunks of burning wood fell to the ground. She sufferedthird-degree burns and was in critical condition at a localhospital.

“When the doctors told me about my daughter, I fainted,”Falcon Perez said. “It’s not right what those [owners of thedisco] did. A place that has events like this should at least besafe.”

Authorities said the club had a long history of legal problems,repeatedly clashing in court with the city.

Operating as a Restaurant

Lobohombo was operating with a permit for a restaurant ratherthan a nightclub, authorities said. Its 4,700 square feet surpassedthe maximum size permitted by law. The club had a capacity for morethan 1,000 people, but at times held up to 3,000.

Authorities shut the club down 11 times for code violations butthe owners managed to negotiate its reopening each time, saidDolores Padierna, a local neighborhood representative.

Earlier this year, officials ordered the club closed because itlacked a permit for table dancing. The disco had featured femaledancers.

The owner secured a federal court injunction allowing it to stayopen, said local official Maria Inez Munoz.

An attorney for the club’s owner, Alejandro Iglesias Rebollo,disputed the allegations that officials had tried to close down theclub.

City officials inspected and approved the club in June, attorneyVictor Trejo Sanchez told the Radio Red network.

The Iglesias family owns more than 80 nightclubs in the city.Authorities said many have been cited for violations. A month ago,authorities closed their bar La Luna after discovering drugs werebeing sold there. A few months before that, police arrested a groupof women for dancing naked at one of their other bars, Hawaii.

According to the National Association of Discos and Bars, 15,000establishments are in violation of the minimum operating norms inMexico. Violations range from closing long after the set hours ofoperation to allowing prostitution and drugs.