Hospitality giant Monte-Carlo SBM has issued a firm assurance that the deadly New Year’s Eve fire in Crans-Montana, which claimed 40 lives, could not be replicated in Monaco. The group, which operates the Principality’s most prestigious hotels and nightlife venues, moved quickly to distinguish its safety standards from those under scrutiny in Switzerland.

Addressing journalists during SBM’s annual New Year press briefing at the Blue Gin bar on Wednesday 7th January, CEO Stéphane Valeri laid out in detail why such a tragedy is virtually impossible in Monaco.

“While I cannot guarantee that nothing will ever happen…”

“While I cannot guarantee that nothing will ever happen, I can assure you that the type of tragedy that occurred cannot happen in a Monegasque establishment,” Valeri told journalists. It was a carefully calibrated statement — acknowledging the inherent risks of operating large venues while expressing absolute confidence in Monaco’s regulatory framework.

Valeri revealed that SBM employs a brigade of people dedicated solely to fire safety. Every hotel undergoes annual inspections by the Direction de la Prospective et du Dynamisme et de la Mobilité (DPEM), with the Monte-Carlo Sporting Club inspected every two years.

“I immediately asked our services, particularly our very large security service — I think it is the Principality’s leading private service with 120 employees dedicated solely to fire safety in our establishments — for a very precise briefing, especially on nighttime establishments,” Valeri explained.

The contrast with Crans-Montana was stark. “I learned that Crans-Montana had not been inspected for six or seven years — this would not be possible in the Principality.”

No sparklers in Monaco’s nightclubs

One detail stood out: SBM banned traditional sparklers from its nighttime venues years ago. Walk into Jimmy’z on any given night and the champagne arrives with LED lights — bright, flashy, and crucially, non-flammable.

“There is no use of sparklers or similar items in our nighttime establishments, except on very exceptional occasions when absolutely necessary. Perhaps once a year at the Salle des Étoiles, and then it is always with the approval of the Princely Government and the safety commission of the Direction de la Prospective et Dynamisme et de la Mobilité, with an extremely precise specification,” Valeri said.

Initial reports from Crans-Montana indicate that sparklers started the devastating fire, though Swiss authorities continue to investigate.

Lessons from the Cinq-Sept

Valeri invoked a tragedy that shaped modern fire safety regulations across France and Monaco. “I was struck, for those of you old enough to remember, by the Cinq-Sept nightclub fire in France, which was a horrific tragedy where about a hundred young French people died in a fire under roughly similar conditions in the 1970s. Since that date, France and Monaco have taken measures.”

The 1970 Saint-Laurent-du-Pont disaster killed 146 people, most of them teenagers, when fire ripped through the Cinq-Sept club. The building had only one narrow exit. It became France’s deadliest fire since World War II and led to sweeping changes in building codes and safety regulations.

Monaco’s sovereign ordinance mirrors French law closely. The materials that allowed fire to spread so rapidly at Crans-Montana are prohibited in both jurisdictions. Monaco enforces strict building material standards for all public venues.

The cost of safety

Safety has a price, and not just in terms of compliance costs. The Salle des Étoiles, for example, once hosted nearly 1,000 guests on gala evenings. Today, maximum capacity sits at around 770 — a 30 percent reduction driven by wider corridor requirements, increased distance between tables and emergency exits, and additional exit provisions.

“This is also one of the guarantees of safety: not packing too many people into a confined space,” Valeri said. His sales team may not love the lost revenue, but the trade-off is non-negotiable.

A system designed to prevent catastrophe

Every detail matters in SBM’s fire safety protocol, indicates the head of SBM. Staff training in evacuation procedures. Annual DPEM inspections. Prohibited building materials. LED lights replacing sparklers. Reduced venue capacities. It adds up to a system where, as Valeri put it, “the type of tragedy that occurred cannot happen in a Monegasque establishment.”

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Photo credit: Cassandra Tanti