Ten years ago this town was a different place. Used to be you could trust your local business owners to put people before profit, but that was back when the world wasn't so quick to turn on its own.

Last night, the owner of Le Constellation bar in Switzerland fled an inferno without alerting partygoers, leaving behind 41 dead and more than a hundred injured. That's not the kind of thing you hear about around here much anymore.

Fire investigators say the blaze was the result of faulty wiring, a risk that should have been mitigated by regular inspections and safety measures. But this isn't just another story of bad luck or poor planning. This is another in a series of incidents where those with responsibility simply walked away from their duties and let people down.

I've lived here 40 years, seen my fair share of fires, but never something like this. Back when things were different, you could count on the owner to be at the scene to help or at least warn everyone to get out safely. Not anymore it seems.

There's a pattern emerging with incidents like this one. It happens more often now than it used to, and I can't help but wonder if all the changes over the past decade have made us less safe somehow.

Last year we saw similar neglect at another venue that resulted in injuries. The owners were charged, but they walked free on technicalities. That's not a message you want sent to business operators about their duties when danger strikes.

What happened last night is a stark reminder of how things have changed since I was younger and more naive. You used to be able to leave your door unlocked around here without worry, but that was before the world got cynical.