Expert says 'Puls' was a disco-club, reconstruction carried out illegally

An expert witness at the trial over the deadly fire in the "Puls" nightclub in Kocani testified that the building works carried out over the years were illegal and that the venue should be classified as a disco-club rather than a cabaret.

Marijana Lazarevska told the court that all construction interventions were executed without project documentation, without professional supervision and without approvals from the competent authorities, and that the scale of the works must be treated as a reconstruction requiring full legal procedure that, in this case, was never carried out.

Lazarevska said the change of use from storage to a hospitality venue substantially increased structural loads and directly affected safety. Steel columns and beams, external stairs and an awning had been built; steel galleries that existed in 2012 and were accessed by stairways were removed in 2024 and a stage had been formed against the rear wall. Internal columns were masked with plasterboard and the attic was finished with glass wool, gypsum boards and polyurethane sponge — a material that burned completely in the fire.

As the only document resembling a project, Lazarevska cited a paper produced by VENCI DOOEL Kocani that treated the change of use to a hospitality venue labelled as a "cabaret." She said that document did not include the legally required phases, was never submitted to the municipality and none of the envisaged measures was executed. Despite those shortcomings, the same paper had been used in procedures by the State Market Inspector in 2012 and by MVR – SVR Shtip when issuing consent.

Asked by the prosecution whether the documentation mentioned the installation of polyurethane sponge, Lazarevska replied that she had not encountered that term anywhere. She also referred to a geodetic report dated 16 March 2025 which showed that the building’s footprint had not changed over the years and that its area had consistently measured around 472 m².

Families: facts strengthening responsibility

Speaking during a break in the hearing, Aleksandar Naunov, representing the families of the victims, said that after 17 months of searching for the truth the expert reports and witness testimony increasingly reveal long-standing failures and omissions. "The knot is being untied, and responsibility is being more and more firmly fixed. It is painful to hear all of this, but it gives us hope that the truth is finally coming to light," Naunov said, urging experts to continue presenting their findings professionally and independently and stressing the families’ support for any specialist who acts with integrity.

"We are asking for nothing more than the truth, but we will accept nothing less than it. Facts are speaking, and responsibility must have a name and a surname," he added. The trial is led by Judge Diana Gruevska-Ilievska and the indictment is presented by a team of 15 public prosecutors.

The fire at the "Puls" disco in Kocani occurred on 16 March 2025 during a performance by the band DNK; 63 people died and more than 200 were injured, making it one of the deadliest recent tragedies in the country.

Photo: Sloboden pechat - Dragan Mitreski