Romania marks 11 years since the Colectiv club fire that killed 65 people on Friday, October 30. Beyond remembering the victims, the commemoration represents more than a decade of unfulfilled promises regarding the needed medical facilities.<\/p>\n
The fire, which broke out on the evening of October 30, 2015, during a rock concert held at the underground Colectiv club, also injured 186 people. Fireworks ignited the material covering the club’s walls, and the flames spread rapidly, forcing people to rush for the exit.<\/p>\n
The tragedy triggered a wave of protests and led to the resignation of the Victor Ponta government.<\/p>\n
However, 11 years later, Romania still does not have the three new centers for treating patients with severe burns operational. In Bucharest, following the closure of the unit at Floreasca Hospital, only one hospital can still treat patients with severe burns. As such, Romania continues to rely on treatment abroad for its burn victims.<\/p>\n
On May 12, 2022, the Bucharest Court of Appeal issued its final ruling ordering the club’s owners, the two pyrotechnicians, the companies involved, Bucharest’s District 4 City Hall, and the Bucharest-Ilfov Emergency Situations Inspectorate to jointly pay more than EUR 50 million in compensation to the victims and the families of those who died.<\/p>\n
Payments of more than RON 8 million to hospitals for hospitalization costs were also established, according to Digi24<\/a>.<\/p>\n In June 2022, the government announced an increase of almost RON 300 million (EUR 56 million) in the budget of the Bucharest-Ilfov Emergency Situations Inspectorate to cover compensation payments in the Colectiv case. The amounts were intended for approximately 400 victims and the heirs of victims.<\/p>\n As of October 30, 2024, the Bucharest-Ilfov Emergency Situations Inspectorate had paid approximately EUR 60 million in compensation to around 300 survivors and relatives of those who died.<\/p>\n In courts, litigation connected to the tragedy continues on several fronts: the recovery by the Emergency Situations Inspectorate (ISU) of compensation paid to victims from those responsible, civil claims filed by victims and survivors, proceedings to establish the competent court, and appeals for annulment filed by convicted individuals.<\/p>\n Only two state representatives were convicted, the firefighters who inspected the club, and only one of them, George Matei, is serving his eight-year-and-eight-month sentence in Romania. Antonina Radu, his colleague, fled to the Republic of Moldova and received a reduced sentence there, namely six years.<\/p>\n Otherwise, no one from the Romanian state ultimately received a conviction. There were either acquittals, or acquittals were granted on appeal to the High Court, as in the case of District 5 mayor Cristian Popescu Piedone, who served only one year in prison.<\/p>\n The largest case that has not been resolved by any prosecutor’s office is the Colectiv medical case, which comprises 544 volumes and currently has zero suspects.<\/p>\n In this case, prosecutors from the Prosecutor General’s Office were required to establish the responsibility of the hospitals where 37 injured people were taken and subsequently died largely due to hospital-borne infections. They were also tasked with looking into the transfers of the injured people abroad, and the specific effects of hospital-acquired infections.<\/p>\n The Colectiv case is still ongoing, prosecutors from the Prosecutor General’s Office confirmed in a response to the victims sent last week, on October 21, 2026.<\/p>\n However, the investigation has exceeded the deadline set by a panel of the High Court of Cassation and Justice on March 17, 2026.<\/p>\n At the time, judge Alin Sorin Nicolescu set a deadline of September 17, 2026, for the completion of the case, namely six months from the date of the High Court’s decision. The deadline was missed by one and a half months.<\/p>\n As of July 1, 2026, Romania was close to opening three centers capable of treating burn victims. The center in Timi\u0219oara is expected to become operational early next year, the one in T\u00e2rgu Mure\u0219 also in early 2027, while the center at \u201cGrigore Alexandrescu\u201d Hospital in Bucharest is scheduled to become operational at the end of 2027, according to News.ro<\/a>.<\/p>\n Once these three centers become operational, the number of beds dedicated to treating severe burns will be as follows: 6 rooms for severe burn patients, 6 rooms for intermediate\/post-critical burn patients, and 5 beds for microsurgery and reconstructive surgery in Timi\u0219oara; 5 beds for critical patients and 10 beds for intermediate care, microsurgery, and reconstructive surgery in T\u00e2rgu Mure\u0219; and 10 beds for critical patients, 14 beds for intermediate care, and 10 beds for microsurgery at the \u201cGrigore Alexandrescu\u201d Hospital.<\/p>\n In August last year, the Burns Center at Floreasca Hospital in Bucharest was closed following inspections conducted by the control body of the Ministry of Health and the State Sanitary Inspection. At the time, fines of RON 30,000 were imposed on a cleaning company for failing to comply with procedures, and a RON 30,000 fine was imposed on the medical facility for the lack of compliant ventilation in the Burns Unit.<\/p>\n The presence of Candida auris fungus at the Burns Center was also confirmed, so the admission of new patients was suspended at the time.<\/p>\n The inspections took place after a woman was admitted with burns covering 70% of her body following the explosion of the apartment heating boiler in her home. She was taken to Floreasca Hospital in Bucharest, where she spent 53 days, during which time she was infected with several bacteria, before eventually being transferred to a hospital in Belgium.<\/p>\nMedical responsibility<\/h2>\n
Romanian hospitals today<\/h2>\n