On 31 December 2025, Steven Lanners was on stand-by duty, along with his colleague Audrey Nemeth and team lead David Castillo. In an interview with RTL, he described the chaotic scenes which unfolded as he was dispatched to the ‘Le Constellation’ bar after a fire broke out during a crowded New Year’s party. As he and his colleagues accessed the room via a neighbouring building, they were confronted with scenes they will never forget. “It was hell on earth.”
The high number of casualties made the operation extremely difficult. But it was impossible to do more, Lanners said. It was clear that over a hundred people were in need of urgent care and his team were quickly joined by reinforcements to continue the operation. The large amounts of smoke made their work incredibly difficult, as it was hard to establish where the fire began amid the chaos.
Despite the challenging circumstances, the volunteer firefighters prioritised extracting as many people as possible from the building.
Outside the bar, many members of the public voluntarily assembled to assist, showing immense solidarity.
Ten days after the catastrophe, over 200 emergency services workers who were deployed during the fire are marked by their harrowing experience, and will need time to process everything that happened. Lanners praised his circle of family and friends, who have offered immeasurable support to him in the wake of the incident.
This marks the first time that Lanners, 30, has spoken to the press. The Swiss-Luxembourg national has spent the last decade working for the Crans-Montana fire brigade.
On Friday, Grand Duke Henri joined other dignitaries at a memorial ceremony in Martigny, where he offered words of comfort and sympathy to the firefighting teams involved in the incident. Lanners and other firefighters were personally thanked for their efforts – “a great honour”, as Lanners described it.
That night will be an indelible stain on their memories forever, but it is clear all emergency workers that attended the scene did everything within their power to save lives. Sadly, 40 people did not survive the fire.
