“Amidst the horror, I will never forget that humanity,” Paolo Campolo said of those who helped save lives

First responders at bar Le Constellation in Crans-Montana on Jan. 1, 2026. Credit :

MAXIME SCHMID / AFP via Getty

NEED TO KNOW

A father in Switzerland leapt into action after seeing a popular ski resort go up in flames near his home
Speaking from his hospital bed, Paolo Campolo, 55, recalled how strangers came together to help the people trapped inside the Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana
Around 40 individuals were killed in the New Year’s Eve blaze, while more than 100 others were injured

A father in Switzerland is recalling how a New Year’s Eve phone call from his daughter allowed him to save the lives of at least 10 people after a fatal fire broke out at a Swiss ski resort.

Paolo Campolo, 55, spoke to Italian outlet Il Messaggero about how his 17-year-old daughter being late for the New Year’s Eve countdown at the Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana made way for him to help others who were trapped in the blaze.

Speaking from his bed at a hospital in Sion with smoke-filled lungs, the financial analyst said Paolina, who attends high school in Geneva but was home for the holidays, was supposed to be meeting her boyfriend at the upscale venue.

However, she was late because she stopped by her father’s house “to say hello, toast together, and open the panettone,” a traditional Italian sweet bread.

Police officers at Le Constellation bar and lounge following a fire on New Year’s Eve.

ALESSANDRO DELLA VALLE/EPA/Shutterstock

“It was our fault she was late: She should have been at that club already at midnight. Today I can say it without exaggeration, that delay saved her life,” he said in an interview translated from Italian to English.

Paolina didn’t make it inside, but her boyfriend did.

As he waited for her at the entrance, the fire began. Paolina called her father for help around 1:20 a.m. local time, and after seeing the flames from his home, which was only a short distance away, he ran to Le Constellation bar with his own fire extinguisher.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but “sparklers or flares placed in champagne bottles that came too close to the ceiling” were likely the cause, “which very rapidly led to a flashover fire,” prosecutor Beatrice Pilloud told reporters on Friday, Jan. 2, according to CNN.

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Recalling that morning, Paolo said, “The flames weren’t that high anymore, but there was a lot of thick, black smoke coming out everywhere. The combustion was very rapid, violent, lasting only a few minutes. Then it stopped. But there was no more oxygen inside. And that’s what caused the tragedy.”

He also remembered seeing Paolina outside “motionless” and “in a state of shock” as she waited helplessly for her boyfriend to emerge from the chaos.

“He was behind the door. He managed to get out right in front of her eyes. He saved himself by a matter of seconds, but now he is hospitalized in very serious condition in Basel with severe burns,” Paolo said. “She was saved by an incredible chain of events. A moment earlier or later, and it would have been a different story.”

Paolo remembered thinking the fire extinguisher he brought “was useless” but tried to keep calm until first responders arrived.

He eventually found an exit to help free those who were still trapped, “but it was blocked or locked from the inside.”

“I forced my way in, and that’s how I managed to save ten young people. There were many Italians there … Through the glass, I could see feet and hands. Bodies on the ground,” he said.

Thankfully, he said a stranger helped him to pry a window open.

“I can only tell you that several bodies fell on top of us. They were young people, alive but burned. Some were conscious, others weren’t. They were asking for help in various languages, including Italian,” Paolo said. “They were very young. That place was a meeting point in Crans, frequented mainly by minors. In front of me, I saw many girls dressed in miniskirts and chic tops who suffered burns on their skin.”

Mourners place candles at the site on Jan. 2, 2026 after a deadly fire at Le Constellation bar.

Harold Cunningham/Getty

Of the “screaming” people he pulled out, he recalled some being “intoxicated” and “alive, but injured, some seriously.”

The thought that kept him going: “They could be my children.”

In addition to the stranger who helped him, Paolo was also grateful for the businesses within the community that sprang into action.

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“The local solidarity was extraordinary. The nearby bars reinvented themselves as medical hubs. In particular, the ‘1900,’ a bar next door: They welcomed the injured people into their kitchen, made them sit down, helped them breathe, and prevented them from fainting. Amidst the horror, I will never forget that humanity,” he said.

About 40 people were killed inside the Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana. More than 119 others were injured. Their nationalities include 71 Swiss, 14 French and 11 Italians, according to the BBC.