Regarding the pistol, it is a firearm that one can obtain without authorization in large stores, for example. Intentional fire can bring 20 years confinement with a minimum of three years, whereas fire due to negligence can bring a maximum of three years. According to his Czech compatriots, he left as soon as possible because he was afraid of being lynched by the crowd–understandably afraid of the consequences of his actions–even if he had not had the intention of starting the fire.
It is practically certain today that Zdenek Spicka, who had elected to live in a small commune established in a villa located near Epalignes, took flight the same night of the fire. Anyone who can give information regarding Spicka should contact the police… It has been suggested that he shaved off his beard and mustache. Although his details had been widely circulated in police bulletins, no trace of Spicka has been found in Switzerland. The cause of the accident is therefore clearly established. The matter is that Spicka fired a flare gun in the hall, first some and then a small flare that lodged into the ceiling which set it on fire. He was placed under arrest by the in Vevey. It was one Spicka Zdenek, born 4 November 1949, Czech refugee, previously of Epalinages, currently on the run (see photo). The investigation performed by the police can identify the perpetrator of the act that caused this catastrophe. On the other hand, the damage in numbers was between 12 and 15 million francs. By exceptional luck, this accident did not claim a victim. As previously already stated in the press, a fire completely ravaged the Montreux Casino on Saturday, 4 December, 1971, at the end of the afternoon where a pop concert had attracted some 2000 listeners. “Here is the release concerning the Montreux Casino fire. It was subsequently translated into English by another Deep Purple fan as follows: The above cutting was tracked down and posted to a Spanish Deep Purple blog back in 2009. Spicka fled the scene immediately afterwards and although a police ‘Wanted’ operation was mounted he was never located. According to a local newspaper article published later that month Spicka is alleged to have fired some capsules and then a small flare into the ceiling of the venue that started the fire and cause the entire place to have burnt down. Step forward one Zdenek Spicka, a Czechoslovakian national living in Switzerland at the time.
As the song goes:īut who was the “Stupid with a flare gun” who burned the place to the ground? Unfortunately, as we all know, it didn’t quite work out that way. Used for live concerts throughout the year, Frank Zappa’s performance on 4th December was to be the last of the season, after which Deep Purple would be able to have the run of the place to themselves and the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio would be parked up outside to capture everything on tape. In December 1971 the band were planning to record their forthcoming album Machine Head at the Montreux Casino in Switzerland. The "funky Claude" running in and out is referring to Claude Nobs, the director of the Montreux Jazz Festival who helped some of the audience to escape the fire.As most rock fans know, Deep Purple’s most famous song ‘Smoke On The Water’ was based on an actual real life event. The "smoke on the water" that became the title of the song (credited to bass player Roger Glover, who related how the title occurred to him when he suddenly woke from a dream a few days later) referred to the smoke from the fire spreading over Lake Geneva from the burning casino as the members of Deep Purple watched the fire from their hotel across the lake. On the eve of the recording session a concert featuring Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention was held in the casino's theatre during the concert a fire broke out (said to be caused by a Swiss fan shooting a flare gun in the ceiling, as mentioned in the "some stupid with a flare gun" line) that eventually destroyed the entire casino complex, along with all the Mothers' equipment.
The lyrics of the song tells a true story: on December 7, 1971, Deep Purple had set up camp at Montreux, Switzerland to record an album using a mobile recording studio (rented from the Rolling Stones and known as the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio) at the entertainment complex that was part of the Montreux Casino (referred to as "the gambling house" in the song lyric).
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