Turin Cinema Statuto Fire — 13 February 1983
Italy · Cinema Fire · Public Venue Safety

Cinema StatutoTurin Fire

A structured incident report on the 13 February 1983 Cinema Statuto fire in Turin, focusing on timeline, casualty reporting, evacuation failure, toxic smoke and unresolved source gaps.

Date13 Feb 1983
LocationTurin, Italy
Fatalities64
InjuriesAbout 20*
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Incident Overview

What happened

A fire broke out shortly after 18:00 during a screening of La capra / La Chèvre at Cinema Statuto in Turin.

Sources describe an electrical short circuit igniting material near the auditorium, followed by rapid smoke spread from curtains, seats, wall coverings, moquette and other synthetic materials.

Many spectators could not escape because emergency exits were closed, locked or otherwise unusable. Later official and local accounts emphasise carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide exposure as the main fatal mechanism.

Recorded Location

Cinema Statuto

Venue: Cinema Statuto, Via Cibrario, Turin / Torino, Piedmont, Italy.

Specific address: Via Cibrario 16–18 is given in a fire-safety training document referenced by the source file.

Setting: A public cinema auditorium where audience evacuation was defeated by smoke, panic and exit failure.

See disputed details →

Key Data

Recorded Casualty Profile

0
Fatalities consistently reported
~0
Injuries in secondary summaries
0
Approx. people inside per fire brigade
0
Approx. fire time reported

Chronology

Sequence of events

13 February 1983 · Evening screening
Spectators were attending a screening of La capra / La Chèvre at Cinema Statuto.
Shortly after 18:00 / around 18:15
A fire was reported after an apparent electrical short circuit near the auditorium or access corridor. Fire then spread through combustible and synthetic interior materials.
Evacuation failure
Smoke filled the venue, emergency exits were reported closed or locked, and spectators were trapped or unable to find safe routes out.
Aftermath
The fire caused 64 deaths and became a major reference point in Italian public-venue fire safety memory and regulation.

Mechanism

Why it became fatal

🔥
Fire origin
Most sourced accounts point to an electrical short circuit, though the exact starting point is described slightly differently.
☁️
Toxic smoke
Burning synthetic materials released smoke and gases, including carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide.
🚪
Exit failure
Closed, locked or bolted emergency exits are repeatedly cited as a key factor in the death toll.
⚖️
Safety legacy
The incident is repeatedly described as a turning point for public-venue fire-safety awareness and regulation.
⚠️ Injury count cautionThe 64-fatality figure is strongly supported. The “about 20 injured” figure appears in secondary summaries, but a stronger accessible official final injury total was not verified in the source file.

Disputed Details

Conflicts and source gaps

The main incident details are stable. The main uncertainty is the final injury count and fine detail around the fire’s exact start point.

Disputed Detail
Injury count

The uploaded research found about 20 injured in secondary summaries, but stronger official and local sources mainly verify the fatalities and do not provide a final injury number.

Secondary summaries

Report about 20 injured.

Official / local sources

Strongly verify 64 deaths but do not consistently provide a final injury total in accessible text.

Safest wording: 64 fatalities; injury total not firmly verified from the strongest accessible sources.

Disputed Detail
Immediate cause and start point

Sources broadly support an electrical short circuit and spread through curtain/furnishing materials, but vary in how they describe the precise starting point.

Fire Brigade / La Stampa

Short circuit near the auditorium or access corridor, spreading through curtains and synthetic interior materials.

ANVVF Torino

Flames reportedly spread from a curtain.

These accounts are broadly compatible, but the exact start point should not be overstated.

Disputed Detail
Fatal mechanism wording

Later official and local sources emphasise toxic smoke and fume inhalation. Some secondary incident-index wording also mentions panic and trampling.

Official / local sources

Smoke, carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide and blocked exits are the primary fatal pathway.

Secondary index

Includes panic/trampling wording alongside smoke-inhalation details.

Best-supported wording: lethal toxic smoke exposure with panic and blocked exits contributing to failed evacuation.

Not Verified

Unverified Details

Items below were not firmly resolved in the uploaded research file.

Injury total
Exact final injury count was not verified from a strong accessible official or contemporary source.
Attendance count
The Fire Brigade gives about 100 people inside; exact final attendance was not independently reconciled.
UPI full text
UPI archive results exist, but direct pages returned 403, so full-text contemporary UPI was not used as a final reference.
Detailed exit layout
The full configuration of every exit and blockage was not reconstructed from accessible sources.

Source Material

References

References extracted from the uploaded incident document. Secondary or contextual sources are marked where appropriate.

01
La Stampa · News
Quarant’anni fa l’incendio del cinema Statuto, a Torino fu la più grande strage dal dopoguerra
13 February 2023
Retrospective report identifying the 13 February 1983 fire during La capra, the 64 deaths, the via Cibrario venue, the short-circuit account, toxic gases and blocked safety doors.
Visit Source →
02
Corriere Torino · News
Cinema Statuto, 40 anni fa il rogo in cui persero la vita 64 persone
2 February 2023
Anniversary report stating that 64 people died during the fire, with deaths linked to hydrogen-cyanide fumes.
Visit Source →
03
Corriere Torino · News
Cinema Statuto, 35 anni dopo
13 February 2018
Retrospective report identifying the 13 February 1983 Cinema Statuto fire and giving 64 deaths.
Visit Source →
04
Corriere Torino · News
Statuto, il primo vigile del fuoco che entrò nel cinema
12 February 2023
Firefighter recollection article noting that the total death toll reported after the incident was 64.
Visit Source →
05
La Stampa · News
Quarant’anni fa la tragedia del cinema Statuto con 64 vittime
2 February 2023
Anniversary report stating that the fire shortly after 18:00 caused 64 deaths and became a turning point for public-venue safety regulation.
Visit Source →
06
Italian National Fire Brigade · Official
La tragedia del cinema Statuto
13 February 2026
Official historical page stating the fire occurred on 13 February 1983, caused 64 deaths, involved about 100 people, and was worsened by closed emergency exits and toxic smoke.
Visit Source →
07
City of Turin · Official
Trent’anni fa la tragedia dello Statuto
13 February 2013
City commemoration document stating that 64 people died trapped in the cinema, with a short circuit and closed bolted safety exits identified as key factors.
Visit Source →
08
MuseoTorino · Museum
Elenco delle vittime
Date not clearly shown
Museum record identifying the victim list for the Cinema Statuto fire of 13 February 1983.
Visit Source →
09
Certifico · Technical / fire safety
L’incendio del cinema Statuto / Torino, 13 febbraio 1983
2 August 2022
Fire-prevention document stating that the Cinema Statuto fire caused 64 deaths, mainly from smoke intoxication.
Visit Source →
10
Working With Crowds · Incident index
1980–1989
Date not clearly shown
Crowd-incident chronology listing the Turin Cinema Statuto fire and reproducing contemporary-style reporting on deaths, smoke inhalation and lack of second-level fire exits.
⚠️ Secondary index; useful context but not the strongest casualty source.
Visit Source →
11
Cimiteri Torino · Commemoration
40° Anniversario della Tragedia del cinema Statuto
Date not clearly shown
Commemoration page stating that the Cinema Statuto fire killed 64 people shortly after 18:00 on 13 February 1983.
Visit Source →
12
ANVVF Torino · Firefighters association
La notte nel Cinema Statuto
Date not clearly shown
Firefighters’ association page stating that the incident caused 64 deaths from smoke intoxication and burns, with flames reportedly spreading from a curtain.
Visit Source →

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