Goran Markovski: Inspectors carried out oversight of Pulse only after the fire
Markovski said two inspection reports from 16 and 18 March exist; the building had been used as a disco for over 15 years without change-of-use approval.
Expert Goran Markovski told the court today that inspectors carried out oversight of the Pulse nightclub only after the fire that killed 63 people and injured more than 200. He said that before 2012 there were no records of inspections related to the venue.
Markovski said two inspection reports were drawn up after the blaze, dated 16 and 18 March. The documents were signed by Nikolcho Bocev and Ljupcho Stamenkov, both civil engineers, and the expert team fully agrees with the content of those reports.
The expert confirmed the forensic report contains no individual names and that it is not possible to determine precisely when the construction interventions were carried out because they were performed without legal permission.
What the reports show
Markovski told the hearing that the conversion of the building had been visible earlier: "In 2019 it was visible that the building had previously been illegally converted from light industry into a disco, which was also clearly visible from the advertisement displayed above the building," he said.
According to the court summary, the premises had been originally licensed as a business object for light industry, but for more than 15 years it was used as a hospitality facility — a disco. An initial check in the Urbanism Sector of the Municipality of Kocani found no record that a decision for change of use or adaptation had been issued for the building.
Markovski added that the municipal inspector had the right and the duty to demand that the object be returned to its original state because there was no project or approval, and, given its use as a nightclub, it posed a high safety risk to people inside. He said the building inspector could and should have acted to close the premises until all irregularities were addressed.
The expert has spent around two hours answering questions from the accused inspector, Nikolcho Bocev. Relatives of the victims in the courtroom were visibly upset and shouted at him, calling him "murderer".
Photo: press material from the event
