Various Swiss cities with a carnival tradition have reinforced their security measures for the upcoming celebrations following the recent tragedy in the Crans-Montana ski resort, where a fire in a bar during New Year's Eve caused 40 deaths and 116 injuries. According to the national ATS agency, security has been tightened for the imminent celebrations in cities such as Basel, which hosts the country's most famous carnival, where firefighters have inspected over 70 venues of the troupes. Additionally, in this city on the Rhine, spot checks will be carried out to ensure that the capacity of venues is not exceeded during the carnival, while in public open-air areas, smoking and lighting fires have been prohibited. In Lucerne, inspections have also been intensified to control the flow of visitors and to ensure that emergency access for rescue services is not obstructed. In Bellinzona, a city in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino with another famous carnival, security systems in public establishments converted into dance halls for the occasion have been reinforced, and staff at temporary bars have been trained in the use of fire extinguishers. In Sierre, a locality near Crans-Montana, the carnival organizing committees have decided that this year the traditional burning of a figure symbolizing winter will not take place, as a sign of respect for the victims. "It would have been symbolically unfortunate to do it a month after the tragedy," the president of one of the committees told ATS, emphasizing that in Sierre everyone knows people affected by the tragedy. Some cities have not reinforced their measures as their authorities stated they already had strict controls, such as in the capital, Bern, with demanding fire prevention measures due to its old town being on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
