Pics or it didn’t happen, as they say, meaning if you don’t capture a moment in photos or video and then share it online, what’s the point?

We’ve written extensively on the growing societal obsession with phones and social media, specifically in regard to young people, pointing to both the short- and long-term harms this problem causes. Anxiety, depression, learning loss, isolation.

But on New Year’s Eve, a tragedy in Switzerland forced a harder look at what happens when danger and distraction collide.

A fire tore through the crowded Le Constellation bar in the Swiss ski resort town of Crans-Montana in the early hours of Jan. 1. The BBC reported that many victims were very young, between 15 and 25 years old. The authorities say that about 40 have died and more than 100 people are injured, with many being treated for severe burns. Officials are frantically trying to connect loved ones with news. One eyewitness said, “People came out burned, their clothes were burned, stuck to them. They were in a terrible state.”

Beatrice Pilloud, the Valais attorney general, said investigators are examining possible causes and have ruled nothing out. As of writing, officials believe the fire likely started by sparklers attached to Champagne bottles. Photos show someone sitting on another person’s shoulders hoisting a Champagne bottle with a sparkler attached up to the sound-insulating foam on the ceiling.

A number of problems have been flagged in this story. For one, investigators are looking into ceiling materials in the basement bar where the blaze broke out, trying to determine how the fire engulfed partygoers so quickly. Officials said it likely was a “flashover” — a phenomenon where flammable gases lead fire to spread almost instantaneously in an enclosed space. Witnesses described to CNN the narrow staircase that led to the basement, making it difficult to escape. Officials said an emergency exit also was available, yet fire and smoke made it difficult, if not impossible, to see and access.

But what stands out most in our minds is that videos show some people continuing to film as the situation worsened, an unsettling reminder of how the urge to document can compete with the urge to act.

For much of human history, people have partied, frequently in bars. This is not the first such event to end in tragedy. The Cocoanut Grove nightclub fire that took place in Boston in 1942 killed nearly 500 people, leading to sweeping reforms in fire safety standards nationwide. In Brazil, the 2013 fire at Kiss nightclub caused by people setting off fireworks that ignited flammable soundproofing foam, killing more than 200 people, leading to fire safety reforms in that country as well. And even now in Chicago, we are all aware of the infamous Iroquois Theatre fire, which killed about 600 people early in the 20th century and led to greatly improved safety regulations. As at Le Constellation, these tragedies involved unsafe conditions and evacuation complications.

What feels different this time is how clearly phones are woven into the unfolding of the disaster.

Someone captured the very moment the fire started. In one photo, it’s clear that the foam had caught fire. Video taken in real time shows the fire growing stronger, as some try to stop it from spreading and others panic. Some video footage shows people standing close to the flames and recording it with their phones. Outside, people recorded footage of victims desperately trying to get out.

We don’t know for sure whether filming meaningfully delayed anyone’s escape. But we do know that phones can distort judgment in moments when seconds matter. The modern reflex to document first and react later can be deadly when instinct and speed matter most.

It appears much went wrong to contribute to this horrific fire, failing the young customers. A large crowd consuming alcohol while lighting sparklers in a confined space would not seem to be a recipe for safety.

An investigation is underway and the officials in charge appear very competent. No parent should have to ring in the new year with such a loss.

Still, whatever the findings, we think this horrible tragedy already carries with it a message for young people: When danger erupts, put the phone down.

Don’t film. Flee.

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