A disaster was imminent in Kartalkaya: There is no fire extinguisher, there is an alarm but it is not working.

A disaster was imminent in Kartalkaya: There is no fire extinguisher, there is an alarm but it is not working.

22.01.2025 08:50

Negligence related to the fire disaster at the hotel in Kartalkaya Ski Resort, where 76 people lost their lives, has started to come to light. Halil Gümüş, one of the hotel staff who tried to rescue the guests, stated, "It's a wooden building. If there had been a fire alarm, this many people wouldn't have died. There is one, but it doesn't work." Neçirvan Öner added, "There are no fire extinguishers on the floors, and the fire alarms are not working."

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In the hotel at Bolu Kartalkaya Ski Resort, where 238 people were staying, 76 lost their lives in a fire. The fire spread rapidly due to the wooden exterior cladding of the hotel.



Hotel staff at Grand Kartal Hotel in Kartalkaya Ski Resort recounted their experiences while trying to rescue guests from the fire. Hotel employee Halil Gümüş stated that after waking up at night, he and his colleagues made the first intervention to the fire themselves. Gümüş said, "I woke up to the sound of screams. Actually, that sound is still ringing in my ears. People had no choice but to scream 'Save me'."



A disaster was imminent in Kartalkaya: No fire extinguisher, alarm exists but it doesn't work

"WE OPENED A BLANKET, SOME WANTED TO JUMP"

Gümüş expressed that they started evacuating guests with the ladders they found, saying, "We couldn't evacuate from the upper floors because it was very difficult for us. We started to open blankets. Some wanted to jump, we tried to prevent them from jumping with our own means. Because a 3-year-old child was being dangled, exposed to smoke. We divided into two teams and started to intervene with our own means. We rescued about 25 people."



A disaster was imminent in Kartalkaya: No fire extinguisher, alarm exists but it doesn't work

"A NURSE JUMPED DOWN OUT OF FEAR OF THE FIRE"

Hotel staff Kemal Gümüş, who was trying to rescue guests with his friends until the fire brigade arrived, recounted those moments, saying, "Many people jumped to escape. We had a nurse friend, she passed away. May God have mercy on her. She jumped down out of fear of the fire." Gümüş stated that the fire was noticed too late, saying, "It's a wooden building. If there was a fire alarm, this many people wouldn't have died. I mean, it exists but it doesn't work. Most people died from smoke. Those who didn't die from smoke jumped down. They jumped down out of fear anyway."



A disaster was imminent in Kartalkaya: No fire extinguisher, alarm exists but it doesn't work

"I HEARD CHILDREN'S VOICES"

Neçirvan Öner, who worked as a cleaning staff in the hotel, pointed to the entrance door of the hotel and noted, "I took a mask for my face, wet the mask and went inside. I heard children's voices. I took 2 children with me. I told the children's families, shining a light behind me, 'Follow me.' I stayed in that smoke for about 2.5-3 minutes. When I went outside, I handed the family directly to the ambulance staff. Then I was going to go back inside to check because I still heard voices coming from the first floor. Then I started to feel dizzy. I fainted, went outside. I moved to the next building. I thought I would catch my breath. I was poisoned by smoke. If my friend hadn't come, if he hadn't noticed me, maybe I wouldn't be alive here right now. He carried me on his back and took me to the ambulance."



A disaster was imminent in Kartalkaya: No fire extinguisher, alarm exists but it doesn't work

"THERE WAS NO PROPER FIRE ESCAPE, NO FIRE EXTINGUISHERS"

Öner explained that people inside the hotel could not find their way due to smoke, that intervention was not possible due to the hotel's location on the back side, and that the measures taken against the fire in the hotel were insufficient, saying, "There is no proper fire escape, there are no fire extinguishers on the floors, and the fire alarms do not work."



A disaster was imminent in Kartalkaya: No fire extinguisher, alarm exists but it doesn't work

"THERE WERE NO PRECAUTIONS"

Öner recounted the experiences of a guest who was staying on the top floor of the hotel during the rescue process, saying, "I told them the fire brigade had arrived, I asked them to wet the sheets and put them against the door edges and underneath. I explained that there should be no gaps at all, the man did what I said. Today in the hospital, he told me, 'If I am alive, I owe this life to you. There were no precautions, if I didn't have my children, I would have jumped down myself.' They were taken by the fire brigade with a basket." Nine people have been detained in connection with the fire.



A disaster was imminent in Kartalkaya: No fire extinguisher, alarm exists but it doesn't work


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