Boston's Brazilian Community Reacts To Nightclub Fire

04:40

January 28, 2013

A crowd stands outside the Kiss nightclub during a fire inside the club in Santa Maria city, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. A blaze raced through the crowded nightclub in southern Brazil early Sunday, killing 245 people as the air filled with deadly smoke and panicked party-goers stampeded toward the exits, police and witnesses said. It appeared to be the world's deadliest nightclub fire in more than a decade.(AP Photo/Roger Shlossmacker)

Early this morning, the first funerals were held for the more than 230 people killed a nightclub fire in Santa Maria, a city in Southern Brazil.

Investigators say that the club was filled beyond capacity and a the building became engulfed in smoke after a band's pyrotechnic display caught fire. Three men were arrested today for questioning, including two band members and the owner of the club.

According to some research out of the City University of New York, Massachusetts has the second largest Brazilian population in the United States. WBUR's Monica Brady-Myerov went to go speak with some Brazilians regarding this weekend's tragic event.

Guests

Monica Brady-Myerov, reporter at WBUR

This segment aired on January 28, 2013.