The blaze was over in 15 minutes, long before the firefighters arrived. On 30 October, a deadly combination of indoor pyrotechnics and highly flammable foam décor killed 25 people during what was supposed to be a music-album launch in Colectiv, a packed Bucharest nightclub.
In the following weeks, out of more than 100 injured, another 38 died, due to complications caused by severe burns, toxic-smoke inhalation and irreparable lung damage. But for many Romanians, what really killed them was state negligence.
