Yes, this issue could reveal a lot and should be fully investigated
The timing is also interesting.
The closure after non-compliance happens after the FIS Ski World Cup. Close the hotelâŠafter one of the weekends with highest room occupancy. Closing it before, would have caused disgruntled tourists and bad publicity. So, the timing makes keeping people safe look like a secondary concern.
This is what AI said:
- Failure to meet safety deadlines: Following a tragic fire at the local âLe Constellationâ bar in early January, the municipality ramped up inspections. The hotel had been identified with fire safety flaws in August 2025 and ignored a final ultimatum to rectify them by January 15, 2026.
- Infrastructure decay: Guests and authorities have highlighted the hotelâs dilapidated state, noting moldy shower curtains, peeling wallpaper, water infiltration in the dining areas, and âancientâ rooms that do not reflect its 5-star rating.
- Service and hygiene problems: Recent guest reviews cited poor food quality (e.g., stale bread), dirty common areas, and a lack of basic amenities like room kettles.
Iâve stayed in a few hotels in Switzerland which would fit that description!
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Câmon, itâs February- every room in the Alps is booked solid for all the school holidays.
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Not sure what point you are trying to make?
I had the pleasure to experience that in Interlaken haha
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Indeed, I think Swiss hotels went through their last renovations in the mid-late 80sâŠthen got stuck there.
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And, itâs a mess. People needs a Kaufmann EFZ/CFC to get a jobs as cashier at Migros, but fire inspectionsâŠnaaaaa, thatâs easy:
The corresponding training in Switzerland comprises a two-week course with a final examination. According to the French portal BFMTV, the security manager explained that although he had completed training in fire safety, around 85% of candidates do not pass the exam for this certificate. According to CH Media, this assessment is also shared by experts.
The man also stated that he had worked for the fire department for 16 years. He was also a safety officer for another municipality. Whether possession of the federal certificate would have been mandatory for his work in Crans-Montana is now the subject of judicial investigations.
Also, it seems that there are no redundant systems with independent quality control, only long chains with multiple single points of failure. One person was in charge of handling the database of establishment that required inspections in the canton of Valais. Allegedly, this person had mental health issues and therefore the data to make the inspections became unavailable.
Itâs a matter of chance that this IT specialist literally went mad. Could also have drowned during vacations, taken by a snow avalanche, died in a car crash, or heckâŠcovid19. Lots of things can happen when a system relies on single person to work. If the mental health story is true, thereâs a high chance of records of this person having issues with the law. Then I hope journalists ask how a person with a record handles sensitive police data.
From the data processing perspective, itâs always funny to see how people develop databases, systems and whatever, for something that can be handled in a ******** ****** Excel table. How many establishments in a municipality? 100,200âŠ500? Is that too much to handle for a person whose job is to do the inspections?
Itâs rather sad that one of the memorial sites for the victims went up in flames yesterday. The cause is believed to be one of the lit candles.
Youâd have thought theyâd have been a bit more careful.
The article is in French but the photos are pretty self explanatory.
I guess itâs Carnival season:
A lumberjack and a car salesman in charge of fire safety
The investigation into the New Yearâs Eve fire in Crans-Montana, which claimed 41 lives, is increasingly highlighting significant shortcomings in fire protection in the canton of Valais. The former head of security in Crans-Montana, SimĂ©on J., had only training as a lumberjack and a mere ten days of fire safety training, reports the SonntagsZeitung. His successor, Christoph B., formerly a car salesman, failed the mandatory fire safety exam before being hired in 2024.
Iâm really curious, what kind of person accepts the job offer where thereâs a lack of human and financial resources, no clear orders from management, and where the info to work with was lost years ago. What made them sign the contract instead of running away?
Instead of the approximately 500 annual inspections required by law, only 119 were carried out, according to the Sunday newspaper. During their hearings before the Public Prosecutorâs Office, those responsible cited a lack of human and financial resources, the absence of specifications, and an IT system that allegedly collapsed in 2022, resulting in the loss of data and documents.
And this is tragic but consistent with a Switzerland that prosecutes whistleblowers. Someone could have run to the journalists to tell the story, but this person and the journalists may have got in trouble. Thus, itâs only safe to talk without worrying about lawsuits until people die. Sad, but totally understandable.
According to recorded statements from the former head of fire protection, the canton of Valais repeatedly prevented the closure of particularly dangerous buildings. The SonntagsZeitung claims to have obtained access to these reports.
SimĂ©on J. is quoted as saying: âWhen I was working in Crans-Montana and also in Evionnaz, I commissioned expert assessments to obtain the closure of very dangerous buildings, but this was refused by the canton.â These were buildings housing staff, âwithout fire compartments and without any fire protection equipment.â
This is descending to the level of complete farce.
Very interesting background provided by RTS. There is a system with redundancies. Several people look at the same thing, if someone misses something, other sees it and report it, Switzerland works. Only issue if that after someone points at a problemâŠnothing is done. And, itâs not the first time.
In 2019, a concerned citizen from Crans-Montana sent an email to the commune president to warn about a handrail (balustrade?) too low in a busy street in the village. The president forwards the email to the responsible of construction safety and permits. Nothing is done, some time later someone falls and literally breaks the neck.
He (responsible of construction safety and permits) was initially convicted of causing serious bodily harm through negligence by the Sierre court. This judgment was overturned on appeal by the cantonal court. In August 2019, during the Crans-Montana golf tournament, a man fell down a staircase, which was poorly protected by a non-compliant barrier. The intoxicated man was calling his parents for a ride home. While reversing, he struck the edge of the barrier and fell backward. The victim became paraplegic after the accident.
The incident occurred in the heart of Crans-Montana, on a busy street. The barrier was too low and did not meet safety standards. A shopkeeper had already reported the dilapidated and dangerous condition of the installation to the municipality several months earlier. The letter had been sent to the mayor, who forwarded it to Mr. D, the head of construction for the area. Mr. D had replied to the shopkeeper, but the barrier was not replaced.
Also in 2019, Monseiur in charge of construction safety and permit did nothing after one fire safety inspection reported how the Constellation was enlarged, meaning the capacity to host more customers increased. A change in customer capacity triggers an inspection, nothing was done.
In 2019, Mr. Dâs actions were also criticized. During a rare fire inspection of the Constellation, a colleague of Mr. D demanded that the Moretti couple submit a planning application for the smoking room. This demand was clearly stated in the municipal inspection report. The Moretti couple had further expanded the basement without authorization, converting a utility room into a smoking area, thus increasing the space and attracting potential customers. Despite this observation by the fire safety expert, recorded in the report, Mr. D did not follow up on the matter. No planning application was submitted by the Moretti couple.
The court ruling from a year ago where Mr. D was acquitted. Itâs interesting to see the argument of âitâs been like that for 60 years, no riskâ. So, 2026 arrives and itâs the same: itâs been like that for several years, no risk.
The Cantonal Court, however, does not share this opinion. In a statement released on Monday, it emphasized that the employee was right, after being informed that the staircase was dilapidated, to notify the municipal Public Works Department.
The report highlighted a âsanitaryâ problem with the staircase, and not âa construction problem posing a danger to the public.â This is all the more relevant given that the staircase is âlocated on private property and was inaccessible,â the Cantonal Court noted.
And to state: âUnder these circumstances, the accused cannot be held responsible for a culpable omission for not having personally gone to the site.â
Even if the employee had gone to the site, he would not necessarily have identified a risk, given that âthis situation had prevailed for over 60 years and had never generated an incident or prompted any reports of danger,â the Court continued.
The Cantonal Court also concluded that it had not been demonstrated that installing a higher guardrail could have prevented the fall, justifying the acquittal of the municipal employee.
Now that a big fire has happened, the chances of that happening again are practically zero, right?
No need to worry or change anything then 
Someone who doesnât understand what a risk assessment means.
It seems some people is rethinking their choices. Maybe fire alarms are not mandated, but people get them anyway:
Switzerlandâs largest online retailer Digitec Galaxus, for example, has seen a rapid jump in sales of fire protection products. Since the beginning of the year, customers have bought two and a half times as many fire alarms, three and a half times as many firefighting products and almost five times as many fire extinguishers as in the previous year.
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From the dozens of videos recorded with phones and music on the background, NZZ journalists estimated 79 seconds from ignition to flashover.
This brings some perspective to the declarations of the local Fire Chief. Current regulations may not consider flammable materials in a room as something to be inspected during fire hazard inspections.
But, if a room can be entirely engulfed in fire in 79 seconds, regulations that donât look at construction materials fail miserably at the their purpose. Fine, no liability for an individual, but the fire protection system failed.
Various older YouTube videos also suggest you have not much more than 60 seconds until the whole thing goes up in flames like a Christmas tree in June.
Even if it burns slower, the smoke will either asphyxiate you or destroy your lungs.
My guess is that maybe we wonât get much regulations but insurances will simply not insure your business or home if it doesnât follow stricter regulations and cities will not allow you to e.g. open a bar without such an insurance.
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The president of the municipal council, ex-responsible of public safety, ex-responsible of fire protection and deputy, were included in the investigation by the cantonal prosecutor. The investigation is about homicide by negligence, body harm by negligence,and fire by negligence.
Hopefully, evidence was not manipulated in the last 2 months.
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And the banks covered their rearsâŠValais Cantonal Bank and UBS reported to the Money Laundering Reporting Office (MROS, part of Swiss Federal Police) some unusual activity in bar ownerâs accounts.
I guess someone at the banks worried about AML compliance issues. Either wait for the police to find out the abnormal transactions, or run to the police while telling with a friendly smile We earnestly comply with AML regulations. They got great legal advice 
The searches of the Money Laundering Reporting Office began with indications from the two banks in mid-January. First, the Valais Cantonal Bank registered on 9. January. Exactly what suspicion she had is unclear. The pass of the law referred to in the report concerns, among other things, money laundering and assets, which may be the injunction power of a criminal (. . .) Organization subject.
UBS, in turn, contacted the reporting office on 12. January. It allows the underlying suspicion to be more precise: the legal passage mentioned in the Fedpol report concerns assets that stem from a crime or from a qualified tax offense. This specifically applies to tax evasion of more than 300 000 francs per tax period.
The reporting office then examined the account movements of the Morettis in more detail and encountered several abnormalities. Morettis have repeatedly used bank accounts to purely transit money, âmaking it difficult to track financial flows.â Other transactions are also âintransparent.â
The FEDPOL is also covering their rears by reporting their findings to the Cantonal Prosecutor. The Prosecutor must now investigate these leads too:
The conclusion of the Fedpol is remarkable: The «empire» of the couple Moretti in Switzerland is based only on the granting of allegedly unlawfully obtained loans. âThis empire expanded continuously by providing an empty, mortgage-filled structure,â symbolized by the restaurant âLe Constellationâ, the place of the disaster on New Yearâs Eve.
Finally, the Fedpol, the âConstellationâ operating company, writes âOver the years, he acquired more bars and restaurants in the districts of Crans-Montana and Lens, increasing their mortgage debt with financial institutions and at the same time staging a fictional picture of economic success, especially by displaying leased luxury cars on behalf of the company.â