Valais Prosecutors Name Crans-Montana Mayor in Expanded Probe of New Year’s Bar Fire That Killed 41

Overview

• Five current and former municipal officials have been added to the investigation, according to the Valais Public Prosecutor's Office.
• Mayor Nicolas Féraud appears as a defendant in prosecutorial documents and has been summoned to give testimony on April 13, Reuters reported.
• Investigators say the blaze likely began when party 'fountain' candles ignited acoustic foam on the ceiling of the bar’s basement level.
• Authorities report the venue had not received mandatory annual fire and safety inspections since 2019, a lapse now under scrutiny.
• Prosecutors are pursuing potential charges of negligent homicide, negligent bodily harm, and arson by negligence, while bar owners Jacques and Jessica Moretti remain under investigation and have pledged cooperation.