29.01.2025 16:21
In the fire at the hotel in Bolu, hotel employee Tuni Urhan said, "They say the fire broke out at 3:30 AM, but the fire did not start at that time. I remember because I was constantly calling my father. It was approaching 3:00 AM."
Tuni Urhan, a hotel employee at the Grand Kartal Hotel in Bolu, which was turned to ashes in the fire, recounted what happened during the fire.
"THE FIRE STARTED EARLIER"
Urhan stated, "They say the fire started at 03:30, but the fire did not start at that time. I remember because I was constantly calling my father. It was around 03:00. There is a transition between the kitchen and the restaurant. When I stepped out the door, there was already an explosion. We were right across from where the flames were coming from. There was very little distance between us. Behind us was a cliff, so we had no chance to move far away. At that moment, another explosion occurred, and the fire spread from the 4th floor to the 6th floor. There were staff on the second floor. Above them, there were people, and they started shouting. There were those who were screaming, 'Help us', 'Is there no one?', 'Is there no one to save us from the fire?'. All of this was happening at the back," he expressed.
"WE ARE BURNING, GET OUT IMMEDIATELY"
Urhan, who stated that he called his father at the hotel to warn him, said, "I reached my father and said, 'We are burning, get out immediately.' They are staying on the 3rd floor. I asked if they were not aware of the fire, and he said, 'No.' I called my father again 5 minutes later. He said he was putting on his pants. I said, 'What pants? Get out immediately.' My father is in a room with five people. One of them is the head of the laundry, and there are people working there. They heard noise but thought it was a fight. If I hadn't called, no one would have known," he said.
'THE FIRE ALARMS WERE OFF BECAUSE CUSTOMERS WERE SMOKING IN THE ROOMS'
Tuni Urhan, who stated that they learned the fire started from hot oil, said, "They are trying to extinguish it with water. The chimneys are blocked, so the frozen oils catch fire. The hotel manager says not to wake anyone, turn off the fire alarms. Generally, the fire alarms are off in the rooms because customers are smoking. There was no smoke detector in the hotel either. The hotel manager, Mr. Zeki, said to wake only the staff, half should come to the kitchen, and half should go to the parking lot to move the customers' cars," he said.