24.01.2025 12:11
Retired gymnastics coach Fatih Güller saved 11 people, including his niece and her family, by tying bed sheets together during a fire at a hotel in Kartalkaya. Güller recounted, "I told everyone to bring me their blankets and sheets, and I would tie them together so we could go down this way." He added, "I have never seen anything like this in my life. We connected the sheets and first lowered the small children, then the women."
One of Turkey's important ski centers, a fire broke out at the 12-story Grand Kartal Hotel in Bolu Kartalkaya on January 21. While 78 people lost their lives in the fire, 12 people were detained. In addition to those who lost their lives in the tragedy, there were also those who were rescued by their own means and by firefighting teams.
One of them was 67-year-old retired gymnastics coach Fatih Güller. Güller became a hero by saving 11 people during the fire that broke out at the hotel in Kartalkaya.
After retiring from Ankara University where he worked for 42 years, gymnastics coach Fatih Güller was invited to Kartalkaya by his niece Gülşen Doğan Durdağ as a birthday gift while on a semester break with his wife and two children. Fatih Güller, his niece Gülşen Doğan Durdağ, her husband Emre Durdağ, and their children Ali Ege Durdağ and Eren Durdağ went to the ski resort the next day and checked into the Grand Kartal Hotel. A fire broke out at the hotel that same night. Güller, who was on the 10th floor, woke up to the sounds during the fire and woke his niece and her family, then went out into the corridor. While Güller and those with him descended to the 8th floor, they could not proceed further due to the thick smoke. Fatih Güller entered a room facing the side of the hotel, tied the sheets together, and saved 11 people, including his niece and her family. His niece Gülşen Doğan Durdağ was injured after falling due to a tear in part of the sheet.
"THE SMOKE HAD FILLED EVERYWHERE" Fatih Güller, who was waiting by his niece Gülşen Doğan Durdağ's side while she was being treated in the hospital in Ankara, spoke to DHA. Fatih Güller said he woke up to sounds during the night, stating, "I smelled the smoke, but I couldn't believe it. We heard a voice saying, 'The hotel is on fire, get out.' We were staying in room 1020 on the 10th floor, in an interconnected room. My niece, her husband, and their small child were in one part of the room, while we were sleeping in the other part with my niece's older son. I told everyone, 'Don't take anything with you.' We took nothing and left as we were. I managed to grab my glasses and my phone. When we stepped into the corridor, we were met with terrible smoke. We went down one floor, and we could only go down one more. We couldn't go down any further because the smoke had filled everywhere," he said.
"I TOLD THEM TO COME TO MY VOICE" Güller stated that he saw a silhouette of light in the corridor of the 8th floor amidst the thick smoke and directed the people on that floor towards the light, saying, "I kept shouting to people, 'Come to my voice.' When we broke the windows, we could breathe. I realized we were being poisoned there. People kept asking, 'What's happening?' I said, 'Everyone wake up, there’s a fire in the hotel, we will suffocate.' I told them, 'Everyone bring me their blankets and sheets, I will tie them, and we will go down this way.' I have never seen anything like this in my life. We tied the sheets together and first lowered the small children, then the women. I was holding the sheet around my arm because there was nowhere to tie it. There were only 4 of us left. I told my niece Gülşen, 'You go down, I will lower the child later.' She replied, 'I won't go down without lowering my child.' After lowering the child, my niece, while descending, had the sheet break about 3 meters from the ground. She has fractures in her spine and her arm is broken. We had breath to take and water to drink," he said.
"I WAS THE LAST TO DESCEND" Güller, who stated that he was the last to descend with the sheet, said, "I made a bun at the end of the sheet, wedged it into the outer hinge of the window, and descended. Those who were coming down brought a ladder. I descended from the part of the sheet that broke with the ladder. A child about 5-6 years old hugged me and said, 'Dad, uncle.' God gave me strength there. I told those there, 'If we stay calm, we will all be saved; if we don't stay calm, we will all stay here.' I clearly remember saving 11 people like that. Later, some people called me to thank me. There is a Mr. Ömer from Trabzon who saved my number as 'Yangındaş' on his phone and called me like that," he said.
"IF THE ALARM HAD SOUNDED, MANY LIVES WOULD HAVE BEEN SAVED" Güller, who stated that the alarm did not go off during the fire, said, "I couldn't see the fire escape. I don't know if it existed or not. We didn't see any warning signs or emergency exits. I believe that if the alarm had sounded and detected even a little smoke, many lives would have been saved. What I did is not heroism. Many people acted like me there. There were many people there who helped me. I cannot express the extent of the pain experienced in words. I have no tears left from crying. I have no tears left from hugging those people and crying," he expressed.
Fatih Güller stated that his niece had surgery and her health condition is improving.