26.02.2026 16:13
In the second hearing of the case regarding the fire that caused the death of a mother and her three children in a 13-story building in Diyarbakır, it was revealed that the fire truck's 54-meter ladder was not operational. In the hearing where there were no detained defendants, the fire department personnel stated, "We had dispatched three vehicles for the initial response, one of which had a 54-meter ladder. At the scene, I later learned that this vehicle could not be used due to an electronic malfunction."
A fire broke out on the evening of June 5 last year in a 13-story apartment building on 564th Street in the Fırat neighborhood of Diyarbakır. The fire, which started from the building's electrical shaft, filled the stairwells with smoke. Residents were evacuated using the fire department's aerial ladder and a freight elevator from a nearby moving company. 17 people were taken to the hospital by ambulances. Among those treated, Bircan Çavdar (36) and her children Yunus Emre (12), Zeynep (4), and Elif Çavdar (10) could not be saved. The bodies of the mother and her children were buried in the Yeniköy Cemetery in the Bağlar district.
"11 VEHICLES AND 44 PERSONNEL INTERVENED IN THE FIRE" A report prepared by the Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality Fire Department stated that after a notification made at 18:11, the teams set out at 18:12 and arrived at the scene at 18:17 to begin intervention. The report noted, "The fire was intervened with 11 vehicles and 44 personnel. 50 tons of water were used." The report indicated that both flames and smoke occurred in the fire, stating, "The electrical shaft inside the building from the ground floor to the roof section, the entire roof, and the elevator shaft burned. It was concluded that the fire occurred due to the burning of the electrical installation in the shaft of the building."
THERE ARE NO DETAINED DEFENDANTS IN THE CASE Within the scope of the investigation, an indictment prepared by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding 18 defendants, 3 of whom are detained, was sent to the 2nd Heavy Criminal Court. The indictment requested a prison sentence of up to 22 years and 6 months for the 18 defendants for the crime of 'causing the death and injury of multiple people with conscious negligence.' The indictment was accepted by the court. In the first hearing held on October 10 last year, the 3 detained defendants were released. Thus, there were no detained defendants left.
"WE DID NOT KNOW THERE WAS A FIRE THROUGHOUT THE BUILDING" The second hearing related to the case was held. Fire department personnel F.Y., who intervened in the fire, was heard during the hearing. F.Y. stated, "The notification we received was about an apartment fire; we did not know there was a fire throughout the building. I saw flames coming from the shaft spaces, we started to intervene with water, but there was intense smoke because the fire was very strong, even the shoe rack in front of the apartment had started to burn. After I extinguished the fire on the first 3 floors, I went outside for a change. After that, my superiors asked me to continue intervening this way using the fire escape on the vehicle. So I moved to the ladder this way. We had set out with 3 vehicles for the first intervention, one of which had a 54-meter ladder. When we arrived at the scene, I later learned that this vehicle could not be used due to an electronic malfunction."
"IT WAS NOT POSSIBLE TO INTERVENE AT THE SAME TIME" Fire department personnel F.Y. stated, "At that moment, I was intervening in the fire inside the building. Then another vehicle with a 42-meter ladder arrived, and I started to use that ladder myself. I used this vehicle to intervene in the fire. I rescued citizens waiting on the balconies. I raised the ladder vehicle to the 13th floor and rescued those on the balcony. Since the fire was large and broke out on all floors, it was not possible to intervene at the same time. While we were intervening in the fire, we prioritized those who requested help, so we tried to rescue those on the balconies. I am not aware of what happened on the 8th floor. Due to the fire breaking out on multiple floors, intervention was difficult, and also the range of our oxygen tanks is limited. The time to go up to the 13th floor and return is fixed. During the fire, when materials obstructed me, I was throwing them aside; I do not know if the materials shown in the photos are the obstructing materials. I was focused on the fire, so I was dealing with the fire."
AN EXPERT REPORT FROM ITU WILL BE EXPECTED During the hearing, the arrest warrant for the defendant S.Y. was lifted, and it was decided to implement the judicial control measures requested to be lifted. It was also ruled to wait for the status of the expert report requested from Istanbul Technical University (ITU) and to inquire about the process of the report requested for the defendant K.Ç. The hearing was adjourned to June 4.