Experts: foam lining and deficient exit door accelerated the Puls nightclub fire

Expert witnesses at the trial over the deadly March 16, 2025 fire in the "Puls" nightclub in Kocani told the court that polyurethane foam lining and shortcomings in the main exit accelerated the blaze that killed 63 people and injured more than 200.

Witnesses point to foam, missing safety features and absent inspections

Viktorija Budimovska-Sekulovska, an expert who examined the venue, told the courtroom in Idrizovo that from the club's opening until the fatal fire there had been no inspection by a fire-safety inspector. "As far as we know, from 2012 to 2025 no inspection was carried out in the 'Puls' disco by a fire protection inspector," she said.

Budimovska-Sekulovska also said her forensic review found only a single evacuation plan displayed inside the building, and that the main entrance and exit door did not meet fire-safety standards. "Everything that is part of a fire door — meaning a panic bar, the latching mechanism, and the fire resistance of the door — that set was not fulfilled on that door," she said.

Marijana Lazarevska, another court-appointed expert who detailed alterations made to the venue during its conversion, told defence lawyers in cross-examination that while experts do not set out to determine the cause of a fire, she shared her view on the sequence of events. "Although it was repeatedly said that it is not our role to determine the cause of the fire, I can share my personal view on this, that we assessed the initial source of the fire to be the pyrotechnics. However, the possibility that something in this particular case, in this particular building, could ignite belongs to the foam. So here we have a direct connection. Something helped it to spread and burn," she said.

Goran Markovski, professor at the Faculty of Civil Engineering at the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, testified about the combustion products of the ceiling foam. "Specifically, for this material — the foam — during combustion it releases carbon monoxide and cyanide, and we know the historical moments when cyanide was used," he told the court. He confirmed that the Puls ceiling contained polyurethane foam.

The evidentiary hearing will continue with the defence presenting its witnesses. Thirty-five natural persons and three legal entities have been indicted in connection with the fire; among the accused are the venue owner, associates, state inspectors, former ministers and members of the private security agency that provided protection for the venue. All pleaded not guilty at the start of the trial. The proceedings are presided over by Judge Diana Gruevska-Ilievska and the prosecution is led by a team of 15 public prosecutors.

Photo: EPA-EFE/GEORGI LICOVSKI