Who could have thought that a blessed wedding reception would turn into a nightmare for a couple and their guests in Iraq. An evening of smiling and cheerful faces turned into grave sorrow after the wedding hall where the auspicious ceremony was taking place caught a massive fire. Our hearts are wrenched thinking about what Revan and Haneen, the bride and groom of the fateful wedding must be going through.
Last Thursday, a fire swept through the wedding hall during Revan & Haneen’s wedding festivities causing loss of life of many including close family members and relatives, and also leaving a lot of guests injured. This unfortunate incident has caused a huge trauma to the couple and the guests in attendance. The wedding which in an ideal case scenario would have been remembered and cherished for its happy memories will now remain best forgotten. The bride and groom have been scarred for the rest of their lives. Talking about his wife Revan says she “can’t speak” as the fire engulfed her mother, brother and other close relatives. He says both of them are numb and dead inside.
According to witnesses present at the wedding, when the fireworks lit, it apparently touched the ceiling, and the ceiling that was made of Nylon started to melt off, causing the fire to spread across the venue. This incident is so disheartening and heart-wrenching and we can do nothing but pray for strength for the couple and their families. But this incident for sure has brought into light the major concern over safety measures during weddings.
Décor, florals, dress, cake, food, hair, make-up – so much time and effort goes into planning a wedding, but have we given a thought to how weddings can be made more safe for everyone present? Whose responsibility is it? Is it the planner, the venue or the couple and their guests? A wedding is one of life’s biggest celebrations and to avoid turning that celebration into something so tragic and horrific, safety and security measures need to be put in place. Here are a few measures that can be taken to ensure that such an incident does not happen again:
SAFETY CHECKS: First and foremost proper safety checks need to be put in place for the venue. Timely checks ensuring that the venue is equipped with safety gears should be a prerequisite. And this applies not only to the venues themselves but could also be a standard procedure for wedding planners and clients during their site visits.
PRECAUTIONS WITH FIREWORKS/PYROTECHNICS: One of the causes of the ill-fated fiasco seems to be the fireworks. Fireworks undoubtedly add the ‘wow’ factor to any wedding but a lot of efforts now would need to go in to ensure that it is all executed with safety as priority. Indoor venues need to reconsider having a pyrotechnic/firework display inside the hall, and if they do then they need to make sure strict safety and precautionary measures are put in place. Only fireworks that are deemed “safe to use indoors” should be allowed.
FIRE SAFETY KIT: Venues need to be equipped with sufficient fire safety kits which include extinguishers, metal buckets with sand, mats etc. The wedding hall for the unfortunate incident just had one extinguisher which made it almost impossible to tame the flames. Venues now would need to be extremely cautious about this.
DISTANCE: If fireworks are taking place indoors then it should be a prerequisite to make sure that there is adequate distance maintained. Every person should be seated or standing at a safe distance from where the fireworks are to take place.
It cannot be emphasized enough that safety has to be the number one priority, and after that unfortunate incident all attention needs to now be drawn towards making weddings, or any event for that matter not only a blissful occasion but also a safe one.
Our hearts go out to Revan, Haneen and their families, and we would request the entire wedding industry to get together and stand with them in spirit, and let us hope that as patrons of the wedding industry we do not face such a distressing incident again!
Let us know your thoughts and how you think weddings should be made a safe event for everyone.
