At the time of the concert, Deep Purple was staying in Montreux using a sound truck rented from the Rolling Stones to record songs, According to NPR. The band escaped their rooms without incident, but were not spared in witnessing the horrific scene around them:
"There was a large door on the right hand side as you face the stage but I do not know if it was open or closed," later wrote attendee Peter Schneider in a 2009 blog post about the incident. "I stood behind the crowd who were trying to get out through the large glass windows which covered the whole of the front of the building from one side to the other .. The glass smashed to the ground, and all the people in the front started to jump out. The building was on the second floor, or at least half a floor up, so it was quite a jump."
It was only after the fire spread to the building's heating system that the fire caused an explosion. Although nobody was killed in the blaze, the casino was completely destroyed, as well as all of the band's equipment except for — wait for it — a cowbell, per Ultimate Classic Rock.
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