Night club closed due to dangerous overcrowding

Auckland City Council building inspector and New Zealand Fire Service fire safety inspectors found a night club on Karangahape Road to be dangerously overcrowded last Sunday morning. As result of the inspection the police shut down the club.

Auckland City is currently investigating the options for possible further legal action against the licence holders of the premises.

The Paradise Bar, located at first level, St Kevins Arcade, 183 Karangahape Road, has a capacity to accommodate up to 50 patrons as specified in its approved building consent AC/00/7664. During the site visit at 12.15 am, inspectors found the club to be extremely overcrowded, with more than 250 people crammed into the premises.

“We were certainly alarmed by the dangerous nature of the situation. The club was packed with more than four times its legal limit of patrons. The steel gate at ground floor hadn't been kept in an opened position and was the single means of escape in case of any emergency,” says Jason Wang, building inspector at the scene.
The club’s liquor licence was not publicly displayeced, and patrons were also found to be consuming alcohol in non designated areas according to the licence. Security personnel were also found to be drinking and intoxicated.

“The bar manager was certainly not in a position to control the situation, and in order to reduce the overall patron number to a manageable level, police assistance was requested,” says Mr Wang.

Police decided to close the premises at 1am. Some conflict occurred during the closing process, with the police making several arrests.

Auckland City and the Fire Service have been conducting random surveys since January to ensure safety in Auckland entertainment venues. The inspections preceded the club fire disasters in the United States.

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