Police Seek Criminal Charges in Nightclub Fire Police say they are seeking criminal charges against 16 people in connection with the nightclub fire that killed 241 people in southern Brazil earlier this year. Inspector Marcelo Arigony said Friday that the mayor and fire chief of the city where the fire took place were also responsible for the tragedy because of the negligent safety inspections of the night club. On Jan.27, fire roared through the crowded, windowless Kiss nightclub in the city of Santa Maria, filling the air with flames and thick, toxic smoke. Arigony said the band performing at the club lit a flare, which ignited flammable soundproofing foam on the ceiling. The cyanide, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide released by the ensuing fire "was what killed the people inside."